Each year, the country’s coffers earn an estimated $6 billion in remittances from over 400,000 active Filipino seafarers. However, maritime stakeholders are concerned by rampant false claims and corruption from some private and public agencies. For seasoned end-to-end maritime solutions provider Synergy Marine Pte. Ltd., ensuring the welfare of Filipino seafarers remains their top priority, which has also become apparent during the height of the pandemic.

For its continued treatment of Filipino seafarers, highlighted by its technical expertise for optimal efficiency, productivity, and customer experience, Synergy Marine Pte. Ltd. was recently nominated for the first P-Innovator Summit Awards. The inaugural event recognizes Philippine-based companies that introduce promising innovations in their respective industries. The awards night will b on June 24.    

While the Synergy Group subsidiary mainly comprises Indian seafarers on its ships or 70% of its estimated 3,000 members, 25% or around 7,500 are Filipinos. The company highly invests in cultural camaraderie among its seafarers, as it recognizes strengths, educates, and trains them via various workshops. Synergy Marine Pte. Ltd has also collaborated with the Excellence and Competency Training Center, Inc. (EXACT) to further train seafarers. To date, it manages close to 500 ships in its Manila office.  

Before the pandemic, the company boosted its acquisition of the Maersk tankers’ technical management business, growing its fleet to 80 yard ships. However, due to implemented health protocols, hiring seafarers to board the ships became more difficult during the pandemic. 

For the Filipino seafarers who made it on board during the health crisis, the company and its partners provided assistance and incentives to those who lost loved ones to COVID-19. It also established a welfare department for crew members and a rotation plan to allow them to connect with their families.    

In the pipeline for the company is its active role in the Alpha Ori initiative, the patented digital shipping solution from SMARTShip, with the idea to apply artificial intelligence to marine technical problems. The system complements Synergy’s crewing software, the cloud-based Poseidon for crew monitoring and tracking. 

Learn more about the 1st P-Innovator Summit by visiting Recognizing the Best Performing Digital/Innovative Business in PH Via an Inaugural Summit – iLead – Institute of Leadership Entrepreneurship And Development (i-leadacademy.org)

The 1st P-Innovator Summit

In partnership with UHY M. L. Aguirre & Co. CPAs, and Babylon2k.org, the P-Innovator Summit will hold its inaugural awards this year, after which shall be an annual event.

The awards aim to recognize the most innovative local companies pushing the envelope in digital transformation, mainly in business-to-business (B2B) and business-to-customer (B2C) strategies. Eligible for the awards are companies in fintech, communication, virtual currency exchange, gaming, retail, and other digital intermediaries. 

Awardees will be determined based on innovation, strategy, engagement, metrics, and campaign results. A panel comprising members of the organizing partners and affiliated entities will select the final list of awardees upon thorough reviews of the submitted entries.