I went to sea the way most Filipino seafarers do — with a folder of photocopies and a lot of waiting. Every contract meant repeating the same paperwork, in the same queues, with no record that followed you from ship to ship.

Seaker started as a simple idea on a layover: a seafarer should carry a verified career in their pocket. A decade later, that idea has become a network of seafarers, agencies, and schools who all read from the same page.

We are only getting started. The sea gave us our livelihoods; the least we can do is build the industry an honest, modern backbone.