Has Covid called time on a golden era of Filipino seafaring?

Manila has been the epicentre of the modern crewing industry for the past 40 years — but we may be at the end of a golden era for the Filipino seafarer.

Filipino officers and ratings have traditionally provided more than half the global maritime labour force, making them the human backbone of the global fleet. These seafarers had been remitting an estimated $6bn a year — 20% of the total sent home by the 10m Filipinos working overseas.