MAAP was established in January 14, 1998 by Captain Gregorio Oca, President of the Associated marine Officers and Seaman’s Union of the Philippines (Amosup) in response to the observations that Filipino seafarers are not quite at par with their counterparts from other parts of the world, that Filipino seafarers dominate the world market only by their numbers, not by the quality of their service.

The institution is run by a governing board from the Amosup, with other members coming from private shipping unions like the Danish Shipowners Association, the Norwegian Shipowners Association, the Japanese Shipowners Association, the All Japan Seamen’s Union, the International Worker's Transport Federation, the International Maritime Employees Committee, and the Filipino Association of Mariner's Employment.

All cadets who enter MAAP are automatically scholars and their education is paid for by a union of shipping companies who will eventually hire them once they graduate. Unions pay MAAP $300 per student per month and the amount goes to the improvement and maintenance of the school's facilities and for the salaries of the faculty members. Recently, the International Mariners Management Association of Japan (Immaj) has even set up its own campus within Maap’s 18-hectare property in Bataan for the exclusive use of their scholar cadets.

MAAP president and Amosup vice president retired Vice Admiral Eduardo Santos said that they (international shipping firms) spend so much to ensure that the cadets will go to them. And one of the values that Maap instils into their cadets is loyalty since there is a lot of piracy within the industry. That is why they teach their cadets loyalty.

"We are trying to remove the stigma that Filipinos are mercenaries," he added. Maap graduates will all eventually become maritime officers, but their first job after graduation will depend on the needs of the company that will hire them. Some companies will immediately make them junior officers or third mate understudy, while others, mostly Japanese-owned companies, let fresh graduates start from the bottom as able seamen, then evaluate them after one contract, and depending on their performance, promote them to officer status.

Maap is trying to produce the best officers that can be that will make sure that each of the cadets becomes good captains and engineers aboard ships to help keep the maritime industry alive in the Philippines. [via]