The economic significance of Filipino seafarers: The state of the shipping industry

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The demand for Filipino seafarers will grow as maritime trade continues to expand as it bounces back from the global crisis resulting from the US-Iran conflict in the Middle East.…

The demand for Filipino seafarers will grow as maritime trade continues to expand as it bounces back from the global crisis resulting from the US-Iran conflict in the Middle East. Although this trade will continue to develop, there are significant shifts in the horizon. Any opportunity or threat in maritime trade must not be overlooked, given how much of the global economy rests on it as we experienced in 2025.

According to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), shipping trade amounted to 12,292 million tons worth of volume in 2023, with an average projected growth of 2.4% from 2025 to 2029. The growth was even more marked in ton-miles at 4.2% from 2022 to 2023, given shifting trade patterns that resulted from increases in US tariffs, supply chain uncertainties brought about by international disputes such as the war in Ukraine, and climate change.

One clear sign of trade shifts is the fact that the “average distances traveled per ton of cargo have been increasing since 2005, with the average voyage estimated at 4,675 miles in 2000 and 5,186 miles in 2024,” as the UNCTAD study reported. These shifts should be closely monitored as developing economies rely more heavily on these shipments for growth than the developed ones. The 2021 transport work intensity (TWI) in developing economies for both exports and imports were twice as much as those recorded for the developed ones.

Hence, the demand for seafarers from developing economies will increase even more as these countries’ trade continues to intensify, and their working populations continue to expand. For example, as Philippine conglomerates increasingly invest in corporate farming (bamboo, high-value coconut, palm oil, coffee, etc.) following the example of Vietnam, there will be an increasing demand for manning services as these products are exported.

The steady increase in the global fleet lends a lot of opportunities for the Philippine economy in general and the manning services industry…

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