2011: Sixteenth National Seafarers' Day

The Sixteenth National Seafarers' Day (NSD) was celebrated on September 25, 2011 with the theme "MARINONG PILIPINO: LAKAS NG PAGKAKAISA! " at the Manila Cathedral..

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 2011 government data, there were 369, 104 documented seafarers deployed abroad with employment contracts approved by the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) with dollar remittances reaching US$4,340 billion. Present data showed that there were 367,166 Filipino seafarers deployed in 2013 with dollar remittances of US$5.575 billion in 2014.

This year's NSD gave recognition to the first batch of recipients for the Ten Outstanding Maritime Students of the Philippines (TOMSP) search for being academically excellent, highly competent in practice, in good moral standing and active in their respective communities. They are:

1.Allyson Agustin Technological Institute of the Philippines, Manila

2. Bryan Segovia John B. Lacson Colleges Foundation-Bacolod

3. Jan Asley Valenzuela John B. Lacson Colleges Foundation-Bacolod

4. Daryll Dadole Asian Institute of Maritime Studies-Pasay

5. Florence Peter VirtucioLyceum International Maritime Academy Batangas

6. Luis Nico Enciso Mariners’ Polytechnic Colleges Foundation, Camarines Sur

7. Mark Anthony GasconJohn B. Lacson Foundation Maritime University-Molo Iloilo

8. Marville Cullen EspagoMaritime Academy of Asia and the Pacific Mariveles, Bataan

9. Rizaldie Zambra Jr. John B. Lacson Foundation Maritime University-Arevalo, Iloilo.

10. Steven Ryan P. Arillo John B. Lacson Foundation Maritime University-Arevalo, Iloilo.

The winners of the 2011 Oratorical contest for maritime students are Grand Winner: Prince Justice dela Cruz of Lyceum International Maritime Academy, LIMA-Batangas for “THE FILIPINO MARINER: THE UNIFYING STRENGTH IN THE MARITIME INDUSTRY”; Second Place:Milton Klark A. Borja of Maritime Academy of Asia and the Pacific, MAAP-Bataan for “MARINONG PILIPINO, LAKAS NG PAGKAKAISA” and Third Place:Deegee V. Gavile of Technological institute of the Philippines, TIP-QC for “FILIPINO MARINERS: UNITE AS ONE”.

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