MANILA — The Maritime Industry Authority (MARINA) is implementing policies that will address various concerns on the maritime sector that were raised by the European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA) during its audit last year, an official said Friday.
“The evidence that we will present to the European Commission (EC) are testament of MARINA’s proactive approach on the issues confronting the Philippine maritime industry,” MARINA Administrator Rey Leonardo Guerrero said during a press briefing.
MARINA is set to present its compliance with international standards on maritime education to the EMSA next month.
These initiatives seek to address improvements on national provision, maritime administration, requirements for certification, as well as maritime education and training institution in the Philippines which were cited on the EMSA audit.
A major part of these policies is the issuance of Executive Order No. 63 that mandates the MARINA to be the single maritime agency that will be in charge of the implementation of the International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification, and Watchkeeping for Seafarers (STCW).
This will ensure seamless administration of maritime education programs and promote coordination among agencies such as the Commission on Higher Education, Department of Health and Philippine Coast Guard.
The MARINA also revised seven of its circulars to harmonize with the SCTW Convention and upgraded its training standards with the approval of the refresher course in advanced firefighting, the four mandatory training courses on passenger ships, and the electrotechnical officer’s course.
The agency is also set to launch by next year its integrated information technology system known as the MARINA Integrated Seafarer Management Online system or MISMO.
MISMO is a digital platform that will integrate the agency’s services and processes online such as issuance of seaman’s book, payment and processing for assessment and certifications and verification of seafarer-related documents issued by the government.
Earlier, the EMSA expressed concern about the country’s compliance with the SCTW Convention.
On March last year, EMSA said there are still 59 aspects that the Philippines has yet to comply with to pass the maritime safety audit.
If the Philippines will not be able to pass the audit, European shipping companies will not recognize the certifications of Filipino seamen which will result in their non-deployment on shipping vessels to European countries.
EMSA is a European Union agency based in Lisbon, Portugal in charge of reducing the risk of maritime accidents, marine pollution from ships and the loss of human lives at sea by helping to enforce pertinent legislation. (Aerol John Pateña/PNA)
