Denmark has welcomed the assurance by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s that the Philippines will address the noncompliance issues identified by the European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA) audit.

In a Facebook post, Danish Ambassador to The Philippines, Franz-Michael Mellbin, said Denmark is happy with Filipino maritime professionals and that the Danish government reaffirms its support for the Philippine maritime industry’s efforts to comply with international maritime standards as set by the Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping (STCW) Convention.

With Danish shipping companies being one of the major employers of more than 10,000 Filipino seafarers, President Marcos’ assurance on the Philippine government’s intention to resolve the certification issue during his recent trip to Belgium is a very welcome development, Ambassador Mellbin said.

Earlier this year, EMSA flagged the Philippines for deficiencies in local seafarer education, training and certification.

He said that failure to comply would be a great loss to the maritime industry and the Philippines.