What constitutes a good seaman recruitment agency?

Thousands of maritime seaman recruitment agencies around the world provide a vital crewing service, supplying crew members for ships, from small trawlers to giant container carriers, and handling everything from paychecks to plane tickets. While many of these companies operate responsibly, over all the industry, which has drawn little attention, is poorly regulated. The few rules on the books do not even apply to fishing ships, where the worst abuses tend to happen, and enforcement is lax.

On the other hand, illegal shipping agencies in the Philippines hiring men operate with even greater impunity, sending seamen to ships notorious for poor safety and labor records; instructing them to travel on tourist or transit visas, which exempt them from the protections of many labor and anti-trafficking laws; and disavowing them if they are denied pay, injured, abandoned or arrested at sea.

The practice of a good recruitment agency

The focus of a good seaman recruitment agency lies on people; various crewing companies ensure the right people for the right vessel. Seafarers are crucial to any shipping operation and the maritime agency job hiring includes extensive interviews and testing techniques to ensure that the best candidate is being recruited. For those that are successful, the agency works with each individual to understand their current and future aspirations and does all that it can to support the seafarer's career at sea including, e.g.:

• Senior officers' feedback on a “newbie".
• Face to face contact and support, if needed.
• Identifying "high potentials' in order to fast track their careers.
• Industry training programs to keep up-to-date with regulatory changes.
• Regular Occupational Health Assessments, in line with the ship owner's policy.

Why using a legal seamen recruitment agency?

Any top notch crewing agency has recognized that their clients often have very diverse needs and because of this the manning agency strives to build up a strong working relationship with its clients.

Top 3 Reasons Why You'd Better Consider a Reputed Crewing Agency:

1. You'd better not bypass the middleman. What’s more, they are able to tailor an accountancy package to meet the needs of each individual, saving time and money. Other services provided are:

• Offshore payroll facility.
• Full analysis and reporting.
• Co-ordinate deductions into monthly payroll.
• Preparation of annual statement of earnings and monthly pay slips. 

In Manila, along a densely packed two-block stretch of sidewalk on Kalaw Avenue near the bay, hundreds of seafarers were looking for work. Recruiters from an agency for seaman Philippines — some legal, many not — carried signs around their necks listing job openings or pointed to brochures arrayed on tables. Fixers sold fake accreditation papers while a popular Tagalog rap song, “Seaman Lolo Ko” (“My Grandpa Is a Seaman”), boomed in the background.

To get jobs legally requires coursework at an accredited trade school that can cost $4,000 or so, far more than most Filipino villagers can afford. And the job related costs quoted are often nearly double what the men might make through an accredited crewing company.

2. You can eliminate the application process and build a rapport. It is a well-known fact that interviews are regularly offered then and there at job fairs, with actual jobs being supplied on the spot. CV in hand, you can engage in conversation with recruiters and build a relationship. Recruiters are more inclined to employ individuals they can imagine working with than a nameless face.

3. Expand your skills and qualifications. Many recruiters offer industry trainings, which are a one stop shop to further employment success, and easily the most effective way to look for a new job. 

List of seaman agency in the Philippines

No country exports more seafarers than the Philippines, which provides roughly a quarter of them globally. More than 400,000 Filipinos sought work last year as officers, deckhands, fishermen, cargo handlers and cruise workers. The abuse of Filipino seamen through an average, illegal pinoy seaman agency has increased in recent years, labor officials in the Philippines say, because the country’s maritime trade schools produce, on average, 20,000 graduates a year for fewer than 5,000 openings.

As men grow desperate for work, they take greater risks. Roughly a third of them now use agencies that are illegal — unregistered and willing to break rules, the officials said. Such agencies, favored by ship operators and workers looking to shave costs, compound the problem of lawlessness on the high seas. Scofflaw ships cast off stowaways and deplete fishing stocks. Violence is rampant, and few nations patrol the waters, much less enforce violations of maritime laws or international pacts.

For who are seamen recruitment agency services?

Crew management services are provided through access to unique online crew databases. With this, owners and managers of vessels can view all relevant information, such as crew lists, certifications, performing reports. It also includes supplying crew to clients on an ad hoc basis, either well in advance or on short notice, to gradually building up a selection of crew which involves positions such as: MASTERS, CHIEF OFFICERS, 2ND OFFICERS, 3RD OFFICERS, DPO, CHIEF ENGINEERS, 2ND ENGINEERS, 3RD ENGINEERS, ELECTRICIANS, ETO, CRANE OPERATORS G5, SPARROWS STAGE 2 AND 3, AB, CHIEF STEWARDS, COOKS, STWDS

When does one need seamen recruitment agency services?

Alterations in the type and/or quantity of vessels as well as a change in trade patterns can lead to a demand for a reputed manning agency, since experience in the shipping industry has - to some extent - shown that seafarers’ CVs might pile up at the desk of overworked, ad-hoc maritime HR-officers.