|
TO
CREATE unified vessel standards, the Philippines’
shipping regulatory body may propose to put up another
state-led company which will be the surviving entity of
a forced merger between eight independent classification
societies.
A top
official of the Maritime Industry Society told reporters
last week that the agency will soon issue a circular for
the mandatory merger of all the groups, all of which are
independent bodies which publish the rules indicating
minimum standards for a ship’s hull and machinery,
ensuring vessel safety, among others.
“We may
have to copy what
Japan
had done in the past few years and create a PG [or
Philippine Government class society],” Maritime Industry
Authority administrator Vicente T. Suazo Jr. said. “A
maximum of two [class society] is the ideal situation.”
The said
measure has become an option for the government after
the eight local class societies last year rejected
Marina’s proposal to
merge.
The
Marina Safety Office is currently finalizing guidelines
for the mandatory merger and will be up for board
approval, but the plan was to copy the Japanese style in
order to give the market an alternative.
For the
past several years, there were only four class
societies. However, previous Marina administrations
increased the number to eight to introduce competition.
These
groups, which help ensure ship safety, have been put in
a bad light, especially after several ship financing
firms have refused to honor certification from these
groups.
To date,
Marina has accredited eight classification societies,
all competing with each other to get a slice of a small
market of vessels plying the domestic waters.
Government requires vessels above 500 gross tonnage
should be classified.
Big
companies such as Sulpicio Lines, Aboitiz, Magsaysay and
Negros Navigation, have their vessels classified by the
Association of International Class Societies even before
their vessels arrive at Philippine ports.
“There
are really very few vessels for the existing class
societies to do business with. Often times it results in
cutthroat competition to the detriment of the public,”
Suazo said.
According to Suazo,
Japan,
which is home to the one of the world’s top vessel
owners, only has two class societies—the Japan
Government class and Nippon Kaiji Kyokai, a private
group. |
