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THE
Maritime Industry Authority (Marina) wants to amend
provisions in the domestic seafarers’ certificate, or
the document issued by the agency that attests to the
competency of a maritime crew member.
In its
proposal, the authority, said the document should be
called the certificate of competency (COC), and that the
terms “skipper 1,” “skipper 2” and “skipper 3” should
replace the current terms “major patron,” “minor patron”
and “boat captain,” respectively.
On the
other hand, a “marine diesel mechanic” would be called a
“marine engineman” under the Marina proposal.
“Holders
of valid certificates of competency issued by the
Professional Regulation Commission [PRC] and/or
Technical Education and Skills Development Authority [Tesda]
shall no longer be required to apply for issuance of a
certificate of competency,” according to the proposal.
The
Marina would also require seafarers of fishing vessels
of up to 35 gross registered tonnage to secure a COC.
Ship
owners and operators, as well as the manning and
shipping agencies that allow a seafarer to serve onboard
without a valid COC, would be fined from P15,000 to
P45,000, and the seafarer from P1,200 to P10,000.
The
Marina board last month approved the proposal, but a
final approval is needed because of minor changes, a
Marina official said.
Last
year the PRC and Marina signed a memorandum of agreement
that the PRC would recognize and acknowledge
nonprofessional seafarers that got their license from
the shipping regulator.
According to the agreement, the PRC’s Professional
Regulatory Board for Marine Deck and Engine Officers
reserves has the right to review the adopted policies of
Marina and prescribe standards on how to improve the
exams for major patron, minor patron and diesel
mechanic.
“…PRC
shall conduct the necessary assessment prior to the
issuance of certificate of competence and certificate of
endorsement,” the agreement stated.
This
means that a nonprofessional seafarer would have to
undergo certain tests before the PRC bestows an
endorsement.
Two
members of the PRC’s board will sit as ex-officio
members in the panel of examiners for nonprofessional
seafarers. COCs can be used as certificates for job
placements abroad.
Marina,
on the other hand, will maintain a databank of those who
passed the exams and were issued certificates by the PRC.
In 1997,
the PRC streamlined its operations and stopped offering
licensure examination to non-professional seafarers.
About
three years later, the Marina started to offer domestic
licensure examinations to the major patrons, minor
patrons, boat, captains, marine diesel mechanics and
harbor pilots.
These
are classified as nonprofessional crew members, as they
did not finish their four- or five-year course, or they
only finished a two-year course for seafarers.
Some of
the nonprofessional crew members have no formal
education, and are armed only with their experience and
skills. |
