The International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Fishing Vessel Personnel (STCW-F) is considered as a key building block in the promotion of safety of life at sea by setting the necessary framework to ensure the provision of duly skilled personnel in the fisheries sector. It sets the certification and minimum training requirements for crews of seagoing fishing vessels of 24 meter in length and above.

However, the STCW-F Convention has a low ratification rate (33 contracting parties) among states and countries globally. The Philippines is among the countries that have not yet ratified it. Yet, Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) records show that 11,243 of seabased Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) are deployed as fishermen in ocean-going fishing vessels, and fishing boats belong to the top 9 of the type of vessels deploying Filipino seabased OFWs. In effect, sea-based Overseas Filipino Workers deployed in ocean-going fishing vessels may be losing competitive edge from fishing vessel personnel of other nationalities whose government ratified for STCW-F.

With this backdrop, this research aims to identify the issues and concerns that hinder the Philippines from ratifying the STCW-F. Specifically, the objectives of the study are -

1. To determine the certification and training requirements for fishing vessel personnel covered by STCW-F;

2. To examine existing Philippine laws/regulations, programs and practices aligned with the requirements of STCW-F;

3. To identify hindering factors towards the Philippines’ compliance with the STCW-F and proposed solutions thereto.