MANILA, Philippines – Jebsen Maritime Inc. (JMI), the crewing arm of international maritime services company Aboitiz Jebsen, has been handed the prestigious Polaris Star Maritime Award by the Philippine Merchant Marine Academy Alumni Association Inc. (PMMAAI).
The recognition, awarded last 9 August 2013 to JMI at the Palacio de Maynila in Manila, acknowledges the company’s role not only in the growth of PMMA, but also the development of Philippine maritime and manning industry.
In citing JMI, PMMA President Commodore Richard U. Ritual and PMMA Alumni Association Inc. President Captain Gaudencio C. Morales, said many ship officers or senior management executives who come from the PMMA would not be where they are if not for companies like JMI.
“For this reason, PMMA and PMMAAI strongly believe that proper recognition and honor must be given to companies who properly deserve and befit such award,” they said of JMI.
Arleen V. Asuncion, Senior Vice-President of JMI said the citation strengthens the company’s resolve to continuously seek highly competent Filipino seafarers to ensure its maritime manpower pool for its shipboard and shore requirements remains competitive in today’s business environment. “We see this award as a validation of our efforts to promote the Philippines as a maritime powerhouse. The Polaris Star Award serves as a guide and inspiration to all of us at Jebsens Maritime because just like the PMMA , we strive to be the best at what we do,” she said.
| (L-R) Capt. Gaudencio Morales – PMMAAAI President, Capt. Terence Uytingban – AJ Center for Excellence Assistant Vice President, Ms. Arleen Asuncion – JMI Senior Vice President, RAdm Richard Ritual – PMMA President |
The Polaris Star Maritime Award adds another feather in the cap of JMI. With more than 30 years in the manning industry, JMI has been a consistent Top Performer Awardee and a recipient of the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) Award of Excellence for five consecutive times. JMI was also bestowed the coveted Presidential Award by the POEA.
The company is ISO 9001:2008-certified by the American Bureau of Shipping and has an MLC 2006 Compliance Certificate issued by the Germanischer Lloyd in October 2011.
An established leader in maritime manning in the Philippines, JMI provides professional crew management services for more than 400 ocean-going vessels and has a pool of over 8,000 officers and crew. It also has an enviable crew retention rate of 95 percent.
Through its parent company, Aboitiz Jebsen, JMI is one of the few crewing companies that has its own training center, the AJ Center for Excellence, equipped with modern marine simulators and operated by a dynamic fleet of young, professional trainors , majority of whom are PMMA alumni.
Aboitiz Jebsen also has an existing partnership with PMMA, the PMMA Training Center, which offers basic and advanced safety courses.
In receiving the Polaris Star Maritime Award, Ms. Asuncion also honored the PMMA for its commitment to train young minds and setting the foundation for future maritime officers.
“The job of JMI to acquire seafarers and retain their world-class status is only possible because of institutions like PMMA which inculcates the proper set of values and mindset among its students, which makes them more prepared and more competitive in the international maritime industry,” Ms. Asuncion said.
The PMMA is the premiere merchant marine academy in the Philippines being operated by the government. It is the training ground for competent merchant marine officers for shipboard and shore-based positions.
PMMA is one of the oldest institutions in the Philippines today, tracing its roots to the Escuela Nautica de Manila, which was established by virtue of a Royal Decree issued on January 1, 1820 through the recommendation of the Spanish Consulate of Commerce.
