1999: Fourth National Seafarers' Day

The Fourth  National Seafarers' Day was celebrated on  September 26, 1999  with the theme "MARINONG FILIPINO: AHIKAIN MONG MANATILING NAGUNGUNA SA MUNDO" at the Philippine Coast Guard  Compound, South Harbor Manila. 

Former president Fidel V. Ramos earlier issued on July 9, 1996 Proclamation No. 828 declaring August 18 as National Seafarers Day wherein  the Apostleship of the Sea (AOS) was tasked to coordinate with the public and private sector in   activities related to the celebration of said event. The purpose of the Proclamation is to give due recognition to the vital role of Filipino seafarers towards the development of the Philippines as a maritime country. Later,  Proclamation No.1094 was issued in 1997 by President Ramos which moved NSD    to every  last Sunday of September every year. 

Per 1999 government data, there were 196,689 documented seafarers deployed abroad with employment contracts approved by the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA)  with dollar remittances reaching US$846.21 million. Present data showed that there were 367,166 Filipino seafarers deployed in 2013  with dollar remittances of US$5.575 billion in 2014. 

The  recipients for the   1999 Outstanding Seafarers of the Year Award  (OSYA) include CAPT. ALEJANDRO AQUINO, JR., C/E GREGORIO CURAMING and BRO. NORMAN B. REAL.

 Maritime incidents and Filipino seafarers casualties: The shipping industry and seafaring  profession were not without incident or peril. There were maritime disasters that resulted in the loss of life of and injury to Filipino seafarers . The following is a table showing some events in recent years that caused harm or death to seafarers  from the Philippines while on assignment abroad

Date	Maritime case/incident	Location of case/incident	Name(s) of ship(s)	Type of ship	Flag of ship	Number of Filipino seamen affected	Description of casualties

25 August 1999	Ship explosion	Mid-Atlantic	Karteria	Bulk carrier	Malta	3	2 deaths, 1 survivor with broken back and burns
2 November 1999	Capsizing of ship in calm seas	no information	Mighty Servant 2	Heavy load carrier	Netherlands Antilles	2	Death

The 22nd National Seafarers Day is all  set on September 24,2017  with the theme "Marinong Filipino: Nag-uugnay sa Mundo!". 

The #NSD22 #NSD2017 activities nationwide led by the #ApostleshipoftheSea ( #AOS ) include the Memorial at Sea, High Mass, Oratorical/ Art/ Photo Contest, Harana by the Bay, Boodlefight, Karaoke challenge, and the Search for Top Ten Outstanding Maritime Students. One of the highlights is the Grand Parade to be participated in by more than 4000 stakeholders from maritime schools, government agencies, manning agencies, training centers, maritime organizations, unions, families and private institutions