THE DEPARTMENT of Foreign Affairs urged the Maritime Industry Authority to improve the education of the country’s seafarers .

DFA said that MARINA is in charge of implementing the Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers Convention.

STCW Convention was the first to establish basic requirements on training, certification and watchkeeping on an international level.

“The EU has now given MARINA until March 10 to address deficiencies identified by EU since 2006,” DFA said.

“We strongly urge MARINA to comply. The livelihoods of thousands of our seafarers are at stake,” it added.

Previous reports said that the European Maritime Safety Agency revealed the deficiencies in the Philippine seafarers’ education, training, and certification programs.