The E.R. Group and Bernhard Schulte ship management have collaborated with Philippine partners to establish a crewing agency based in Manila called E.R. Crew Management (Philippines) Corp. The joint venture recently received the appropriate license from the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration. Ship management company E.R. Schiffahrt is the exclusive customer of E.R. Crew Management (Philippines). ˜We hope to develop a close relationship between well-trained seafarers in the Philippines and ship management company E.R. Schiffahrt. The crewing agency allows us to meet the qualitative requirements of our customer through appropriate training while increasing identification with the company,' explains Vicente A. Dayo, president of E.R. Crew Management (Philippines) Corp., who previously was a member of the management team at the Crew Service Center of Bernhard Schulte ship management in Manila. The new office of E.R. Crew Management in Manila will employ around 20 people to manage the recruitment of new crew members as well as the training of some 1,600 existing Filipino seafarers. At present, about 25 per cent of officers and 98 per cent of ratings on board of vessels managed by E.R. Schiffahrt have their roots in the Philippines