Maritime relations between Norway and the Philippines go back to the beginning of the last century. The maritime sector is the most important sector in bilateral relations between Norway and the Philippines with a firmly established Norwegian involvement.
Today, Norwegian ships employ approx. 25,000 Filipino seafarers on board its international fleet. Besides employments, there is also a significant Norwegian involvment in ensuring the quality of education and training of seafarers in the Philippines. In recent years, several maritime schools and maritime training centers have been established with Filipino and Norwegian principals. Several bilateral agreements have been made in order to further develop and stengthening the relations between the two countries.
The Embassy carries out the supervision of maritime service through a general control (in addition to the employer's precontrol) to ensure that the employer meets the requirements set out in Norwegian and international maritime legislation. Each year the Embassy carries out the control of documents for approx. 12,000 Filipino seafarers assigned to the Norwegian fleet.