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REGULATOR Maritime Industry Authority (Marina) is set to
approve a number of policies in its board meeting this
week that may include measures on the transport of
dangerous cargo and a proposed executive order (EO) on
the Philippine registry.
Some of
these have already been approved earlier but needed
revisions.
In an
interview, a
Marina
official said the board, headed by a representative of
the Department of Transportation and Communications,
would also discuss the EO that seeks to expand the
country’s ship registry to be on a par with that of
other nationalities.
“The EO
will be up for board approval on Wednesday, but it will
be just a formality,” the official said.
Marina
estimates that the agency will have some $25 million in
additional revenue in the next few years that starts
when President Arroyo signs the EO liberalizing the
country’s ship registry possibly later in the year.
The
revenue would come from vessels’ fees and investments
that will materialize with the establishment of its
branches in the Philippines.
“Just
now, there are about 12 German vessels that want to
register [in the Philippines], they are just waiting for
the signing of the EO,” Marina Administrator Vicente
Suazo Jr. earlier said.
Suazo
said his agency has started to market the Philippine
registry in other countries, hoping that Malacañang will
release the order anytime this year.
Marina
wants to start and expand the Philippine registry to
stem the drop in the number of vessels that carry the
nation’s colors—from 467 in 1998 to today’s 168. The
figure would likely drop further as the agency is
scheduled to delete from its list registrations that
have expired and moved to another nationality.
Another
Marina official told the BusinessMirror that Marina
would have to discuss policies the agency approved early
this year, which include a measure that puts the
responsibility on the ship’s captain and owner when
moving dangerous cargo.
The
official said the board has placed many policies on
hold, particularly those that pertain to measures borne
out of the sinking of the MT Solar I in Guimaras in
2006.
“I think
we will have to approve it [policy on dangerous cargo]
again because the PCG [Philippine Coast Guard] did not
like some of the provisions,” the official said, but did
not elaborate on the changes.
Marina
Circular 2001-01, the “Rules Governing the Carriage of
Dangerous and/or Hazardous Cargoes or Goods in Packaged
Form for Ships Plying Domestic Trade,” states that the
captain and the ship owner will both be liable in case
of accidents that “…in the event of a ship, abandoned
due to an incident/accident involving dangerous cargoes,
or in the event of a report from such a ship being
incomplete or unobtainable, the company, to the fullest
extent possible, assumes the obligations placed under
the master by this regulation.”
It
added, “The Master [captain of the ship] shall ensure
that all dangerous cargo/es carried onboard are
protected from any unauthorized access and that such
spaces where these cargoes are carried are properly
marked.” |
