gCaptain - Latest Comments in The Filipino Monkey Strikes Again (and again and again…)

Re: The Filipino Monkey Strikes Again (and again and again…)

Kennebec_Captain — Sun, 01 Jun 2008 09:13:49 -0000

I've heard pranksters tell tankers that the pilot is waiting to board at the pilot station. If they have been on the VHF for the last 2 hrs with the usual nonsense you sometimes recognize their voices.

Marine VHF radios need to have some kind of caller ID built in.

Re: The Filipino Monkey Strikes Again (and again and again…)

pinoy maritime — Sat, 31 May 2008 06:27:01 -0000

I've heard it in a lot of places, in the Mediterranean sea, Gibraltar strait, Adriatic sea, and a lot more. It is really unethical to reply to this prank voices on the vhf. But who can tell who they are. They can only advise or ask them to stop this nonsense in the vhf, but does anyone really got apprehended? If there was a circular news that somebody got apprehended and was imposed of fines regarding this on all fleets of ship. Maybe it will be stopped. I experienced one time approaching gibraltar strait on the 4 to 8 watch, this people start talking in the vhf, I cannot even hear the VTS information because of it. I've been on active seafaring and believe me, I've seen changes on human behavior whenever they've work onboard more than a year. Its not a Filipino all the time that started it, I've witnessed a Greek Captain who started this nonsense prank word and everyship in the area start to reply. Who gets to blame on this, I don't really know. It becomes a seawide word together with "mario", "Indian bad smell" and a lot of modifications. With the new sets of rules, paperworks, maritime security, and less time on berth. Liberty to even step on land is limited. Maybe some seafarers find it a way to reduce the pressure and boredom onboard. But its not a very good excuse. But I could say that the new generation of seaman now are more aware of what professionalism is. But out there on the sea who knows. Its a vast space and only a few people can appreciate what kind of life we are living out there. But honestly on my own opinion, this has got to be stopped.

Re: The Filipino Monkey Strikes Again (and again and again…)

John — Tue, 22 Jan 2008 21:12:01 -0000

Marlon,

A mariner "at heart" maybe?

Re: The Filipino Monkey Strikes Again (and again and again…)

Marlon — Tue, 22 Jan 2008 08:55:20 -0000

"Bob, you’re right and in their defense they are some of the most competent mariners I’ve worked with yet for various reasons (mostly fear of them taking a mariner’s job) they catch a lot of BS. So I understand where they are coming from with sensitive issues.

Actually it was not easy for me to even write the term and I cringe at how it’s being thrown around the American press right now. I’d love to get a Filipino mariner to submit a comment here and, if they do, I’ll be sure to send it to primary news bloggers."

I'm Filipino, though not a mariner. Thanks John.

Re: The Filipino Monkey Strikes Again (and again and again…)

Thalassa — Tue, 15 Jan 2008 01:16:00 -0000

Hello Captain,

I wrote up a post in my blog about hearing this while sailing in the Aegean, so this is definitely not restricted to the Straits of Hormuz.

During my sailing trip (which lasted 9 days), I'm sure it was just one guy who harassed mostly Indian and Pakistani mariners over and over again whenever he could heard any of them in conversation on Channel 16.

I had no idea it was such a common prank.

Re: The Filipino Monkey Strikes Again (and again and again…)

Avery — Mon, 14 Jan 2008 20:26:50 -0000

Here's another example

http://editor-at-large.blog...

Re: The Filipino Monkey Strikes Again (and again and again…)

Avery — Mon, 14 Jan 2008 20:21:11 -0000

It seems that you and your fellow mariners have a far better understanding of this than the folks higher up in the chain of command. They fed the AP the exact same story about a single prolific monkey in 1988.

http://findarticles.com/p/a...

Re: The Filipino Monkey Strikes Again (and again and again…)

Dennis — Mon, 14 Jan 2008 05:17:18 -0000

I can't believe you've been writting a maritime blog this long and this is the first you wrote about ti.

Re: The Filipino Monkey Strikes Again (and again and again…)

CMJeff — Sun, 13 Jan 2008 23:00:39 -0000

I think the operative word here is BOREDOM... the life of a mariner is rarely as exciting as it sounds.

Re: The Filipino Monkey Strikes Again (and again and again…)

John — Sun, 13 Jan 2008 22:57:14 -0000

Bob, you're right and in their defense they are some of the most competent mariners I've worked with yet for various reasons (mostly fear of them taking a mariner's job) they catch a lot of BS. So I understand where they are coming from with sensitive issues.

Actually it was not easy for me to even write the term and I cringe at how it's being thrown around the American press right now. I'd love to get a Filipino mariner to submit a comment here and, if they do, I'll be sure to send it to primary news bloggers.

Re: The Filipino Monkey Strikes Again (and again and again…)

Bob Couttie — Sun, 13 Jan 2008 21:55:23 -0000

The term 'monkey' is considered exceedingly derogatory by Filipinos. The line from an old American song: "The monkeys have no tails in Zamboanga is often trotted out as an example of a racial slur (Wrongly as it happens). I know of a bookstore clerk who nearly got punched after, quite innocently, referring to a mischievous Filipino child as 'a little Monkey'.

I have no doubt this tale will be picked up by the press here and blown out of proportions.

Yes, Filipinos are oversensitive, I'll admit that, but this sort of bilge goes beyond the pale.

Bob

Re: The Filipino Monkey Strikes Again (and again and again…)

Capt. Mike — Sun, 13 Jan 2008 21:40:42 -0000

I want to jump through the radio and strangle the person EVERY time I hear this.... which is almost daily.

This is also yet another reason I sigh relief once we get out to sea.