United Philippine Lines

United Philippine Lines (UPL) was formed in 1960 as a joint venture between several shipping companies in the Philippines. In the mid-70’s, UPL expanded and ventured into crewing. Since then, the company has continued on the deployment of Filipino seafarers onboard international cruise vessels, oil and gas tankers, bulk and cargo carriers, chemical tankers and superyachts. Thus, UPL was recognized as the pioneer in the manning industry by the Philippine government. In 1972, Holland America Line (HAL) through its chosen agent UPL was the first to hire Filipino seafarers onboard international cruise vessels. UPL started providing seafarers for Holland America’s three (3) cruise ships. Now it has grown to fifteen (15) cruise ships supplying Filipino seafarers in 113 different positions fleet-wide in various departments such as food and beverage, culinary, deck and engine, medical, and hotel departments. In its more than forty years partnership with Holland America Line (HAL) and Shell Ship Management Limited (SSML) respectively, these relationships had significantly contributed in the development of the Filipino into a global and world-class workforce. This achievement was highlighted when HAL and SSML were bestowed the Presidential award during the International Maritime Employers Awards and in the same year United Philippine Lines received a Special Commendation on Exemplary Welfare Programs and Allied Services, a testament to the value UPL provides to its Filipino crew. United Philippine Lines has been a consistent recipient of the Top Performer Award, Award of Excellence, and Hall of Fame presented by the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA). United Philippine Lines is also a recipient of the Presidential Award of Excellence given by the POEA and the President of the Republic of the Philippines. UPL is ISO 9001:2008 certified and with a DNV Management System Certificate on Marine Labor Convention 2006 (MLC 2006) part 1.4.