TACLOBAN CITY — The National Maritime Polytechnic (NMP) is preparing for an expected increase in Filipino seafarers seeking competency certificates in 2026.

NMP Executive Director Victor Del Rosario said the government’s premier maritime training center aims to surpass its 2025 performance, when it trained 22,741 aspiring and active Filipino seafarers as of 5 December — the highest number of successful trainees since NMP began operations in 1983.

Del Rosario said NMP will offer 56 training courses from January to June 2026, including 22 mandatory courses under the International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers (STCW).

The center will also provide 34 non-mandatory courses, 32 of which will be offered free of charge, expanding opportunities for maritime professionals to upgrade their skills and competencies.

To maximize training slots, Del Rosario said trainees who fail to attend the first session of any paid training course will be delisted from the batch and may request re-enrollment in a future schedule. However, grantees of free training who miss the first session will be barred from re-enrolling in any NMP training program for one year.

Del Rosario attributed the rise in enrollment to the full implementation of the Maritime Industry Authority (MARINA)’s prescribed maximum trainee intake, the opening of additional training batches, and the forging of memoranda of agreement with partner institutions nationwide, particularly maritime schools.

Since completing repairs to facilities damaged by Typhoon Yolanda in 2013, NMP has continued to invest in modernizing its equipment to strengthen training capabilities.

In 2024, Del Rosario said NMP acquired a P40-million Full Mission Bridge Simulator, a P10-million Liquid Cargo Handling Simulator, and upgraded its Engine Room Simulator software worth P2 million, allowing trainees to experience more realistic, shipboard-level instruction.

During an inspection of repair works at San Juanico Bridge, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. made a side visit to NMP to check the newly installed state-of-the-art simulators.

For 2025, NMP was allocated P63 million for additional maritime training equipment and simulators. Meanwhile, Del Rosario said Congress approved a P407.578-million budget for NMP in 2026 under the Department of Migrant Workers.