IMS Philippines Maritime

What IMS Philippines Maritime does

IMS Philippines Maritime Corp. (formerly Pobar Marine Services, Incorporated) is a Philippine-domiciled, privately held maritime manning agency founded on September 17, 1982, and headquartered in Pasay City, Manila. The company recruits and deploys highly skilled Filipino seafarers to foreign shipping principals, with a specialized focus on tanker vessels including Crude Oil Carriers, Chemical Tankers, Product Tankers, and LPG Carriers. Since May 1989 it has operated as a joint venture with the Japanese shipping company Iino Marine Service Co., Ltd., which serves as its primary principal; a second associated Iino Group principal, Iino Kaiun Kaisha, Ltd., has subsequently been added.

The company operates a vertically integrated model combining recruitment, in-house training, deployment, and ongoing crew management. Training infrastructure includes proprietary TOTS (Tanker Officer's Training Standard) systems, Liquid Cargo Handling Simulators, Engine Room Simulators, and dedicated mess-room training for cooks and messmen, alongside structured programs such as Pre-Departure Orientation Seminars (PDOS), Officer Candidate Training, VETT Vetting Inspection, Rating In-House, and Bulk Training. The organization holds ISO 9001:2015 certification, Maritime Labour Convention (MLC) compliance, Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) licensing, and POEA-recognized zero recruitment violations over 25+ years, and operates with a small team of 36 employees across Administration, Accounting, Crewing, and Training functions.

The business model is B2B professional services under negotiated, non-publicly disclosed contracts with shipping principals. Revenue is generated from placement/recruitment fees and ongoing crew management services — including payroll processing, visa and licensing support (US, Schengen, Panama, Cayman, Liberian, Singapore), training coordination, and seafarer welfare services. Distribution is exclusively direct-to-principal with no resellers; the company has scaled from 3 to 40 specialized tanker vessels under management since 1989 and reports a 96.4-98% seafarer retention rate with its primary principal.

Name

IMS Philippines Maritime

Legal name

IMS Philippines Maritime Corp.

Website

https://imsphil.com.ph

Company type

Private

Founded year

1982

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

IMS Philippines Maritime Corp. is a Philippine-licensed manning agency that recruits, trains, and deploys Filipino seafarers primarily to Japanese shipping principals, specializing in tanker vessels under a long-standing joint venture with Iino Marine Service Co., Ltd.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Maritime Crew Manning Services

NAICS

Support Activities for Water Transportation (4883)

SIC

Water Transportation (4400)

akta.pro primary industry

Crew, Marine & Offshore Travel Management (TMCs) (THACAAAG)

akta.pro secondary industry

Marine Engineering & Engine Room Operations (EDAOANAB)

Keywords

• Maritime manning services
• Seafarer recruitment
• Crew management services
• Maritime training simulators
• Filipino maritime workforce

Headquarters

HQ city

Pasay City

HQ country

Philippines

HQ region

Asia

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Seafarer Recruitment and Deployment Services: The company generates revenue as a manning agency by recruiting, deploying, and managing Filipino seafarers for foreign shipping companies (principals). Revenue is derived from placement fees and ongoing crew management services provided to vessel owners.
2. Crew Management Services: Ongoing management services for deployed seafarers including payroll processing, documentation, visa processing, training coordination, and welfare services.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

IMS Philippines Maritime Corp. is a Filipino maritime manning agency that recruits, trains, deploys, and manages Filipino seafarers for foreign shipping principals, primarily Iino Marine Service Co., Ltd. (Japan). Core operations include end-to-end crew management for tanker vessels (Crude Oil, Chemical, Product, and LPG Carriers) along with in-house pre-deployment training using proprietary TOTS evaluation systems and advanced liquid cargo and engine room simulators.

Product overview

IMS Philippines Maritime Corp. is a maritime manning agency offering a unified portfolio of crew recruitment, deployment, and management services for Filipino seafarers. The core offering is recruitment and deployment services for vessels under their principal Iino Marine Service Co., Ltd., supported by comprehensive in-house training programs including Liquid Cargo Handling Simulators, Engine Room Simulators, PDOS, Officer Training, and Cooks/Messman Training. Training programs follow structured schedules with modules like Officer Candidate Training, VETT Vetting Inspection, Rating In-House Training, and Bulk Training.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Crew Recruitment and Deployment Services End-to-end recruitment, selection, and deployment of Filipino seafarers to foreign shipping principals, principally Iino Marine Service Co., Ltd. (Japan), for tanker vessels.
• Crew Management Services Ongoing management of deployed seafarers covering payroll, visa processing (US Visa, Schengen Visa, Panama, Cayman, Liberian, Singapore Licenses), training certificates, passport/seaman's book/medical processing, Japanese licenses, flight bookings, and provision of working clothes.
• Liquid Cargo Handling Simulator Training

Quantifiable outcome

• 96.4-98% seafarer retention rate
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Iino Marine Service Co., Ltd.coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 May 1989Joint venture partnership established in May 1989 under new management. Started with 3 vessels and grew to 40 specialized tanker vessels. Iino Marine Service Co., Ltd. is the primary principal of IMS Philippines. The partnership includes a 96.4-98% seafarer retention rate. Iino Marine Service Co., Ltd. is a Japanese company known for being the first Japanese company to receive the GREEN AWARD CERTIFICATE for environmentally friendly and safe management.
• Department of Migrant WorkerscoreOthersPhilippine government agency overseeing the welfare and protection of migrant workers, including Filipino seafarers deployed abroad.
• Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA)coreOthersGovernment agency under the Department of Migrant Workers that provides welfare services and benefits to overseas Filipino workers, including seafarers managed by IMS Philippines.
• Maritime Industry Authority (MARINA)coreOthersPhilippine government agency responsible for the integration, coordination, and supervision of the maritime industry, ensuring compliance with international maritime standards.
• Filipino Association for Maritime Employment (F.A.M.E)minorOthersIndustry association for Philippine maritime manning agencies. IMS Philippines has been a dedicated member for 32 years, receiving multiple recognitions including a Plaque of Recognition in 2024.
• Iino Kaiun Kaisha, Ltd.minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAssociated Japanese shipping company under the Iino Group, related to the main principal Iino Marine Service Co., Ltd.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Fleet Management Limited: Hong Kong-headquartered ship management group with large-scale Filipino crew deployment for tanker and bulk principals. Comparable in supplying international tanker operators with Filipino seafarers, though much larger in scale.
• Anglo-Eastern Ship Management: Global ship management and crewing company with significant Filipino seafarer deployment. Comparable in supplying tanker and offshore crew to international principals but operates at much larger scale across multiple nationalities.
• V.Ships: One of the world's largest independent ship management and crewing groups, with substantial Filipino seafarer deployments. Comparable in providing crew management services to international principals but operates globally at significantly larger scale.
• Wallem Group: Hong Kong-based ship management and crewing group with significant Filipino seafarer deployment and Asian shipping principal relationships. Comparable in supplying Asian (including Japanese) principals with crew management services.
• Bernhard Schulte Shipmanagement: Global ship management group with crewing operations including Filipino seafarer deployment. Comparable in supplying international principals with crew management services but operates across broader service categories and vessel types.
• Marlow Navigation: Global ship management and crewing provider with operations in the Philippines. Comparable in core crew management services but broader geographic and service scope (technical management, newbuilding supervision).

Direct peers

• CF Sharp Crew Management: Philippine-based crewing subsidiary of a broader ship management group providing Filipino seafarers to international tanker and bulk principals. Closely comparable in scope (Filipino crew) and customer type (international vessel operators).
• Magsaysay People Resources Corporation: One of the largest Filipino manning agencies, recruiting and deploying seafarers for global principals across multiple vessel types. Directly comparable as a Philippine-based crewing agency serving international shipping clients with end-to-end crew management.
• Philippine Transmarine Carriers (PTC): Filipino manning and crewing agency with long-standing Japanese shipping principal relationships, deploying officers and ratings primarily to Japanese-flagged vessels. Closely comparable as a Philippines-anchored agency with Japanese principal exposure.
• Manship Maritime International: Filipino manning agency deploying seafarers to international principals, with in-house training facilities. Comparable in core service offering and target customer base (foreign shipping principals) and similar mid-sized scale.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/IMSPhilippinesMaritimeCorpOfficial
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/ims-philippines-maritime

Compliance8 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about IMS Philippines Maritime