Filipino seafarers comprise more than 25 percent of the 1.5 milion mariners worldwide, making them the single biggest nationality in the global shipping industry.

Filipinos are employed as seamen worldwide more than any other nationality. According to an article in OFWGuide.com one out of every five seamen in the world is in Filipino. The  Philippines is the primary source of seafarers in the global shipping and transport market.

Filipino seamen are recruited to man bulk, tanker and all types of vessels from all countries, including those from North America, South America, Europe and Asia, such as Japan, the United States, Panama, Liberia, Cyprus, Bahamas, Jamaica, Greece, Malta, Singapore, Norway and Germany.