A molecular testing laboratory dedicated to seafarers who need to get tested for the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in crew-change hub ports in the country is now operational, the Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) said.
(MANILA BULLETIN)
The South Harbor Molecular Laboratory in Manila started operating on September 23 after getting an accreditation from the Department of Health.
With a daily testing capacity of around 2,000 and a 24 to 48-hour turnaround time for results, the new facility will cater to the testing requirements for crew-change hub ports controlled by the PPA.
“It is also intended to be designated as the primary seafarer processing center for all inbound and outbound seafarers in the Port of Manila,” PPA General Manager Jay Daniel Santiago said.
“The South Harbor Molecular Laboratory is intended to serve the testing requirements for crew change of seafarers in the Port of Manila and Port Capinpin in Orion, Bataan, and soon, in the Port of Batangas” Santiago added.
The facility also provides a one-stop-shop housing satellite offices of the Maritime Industry Authority, Bureau of Immigration, Bureau of Quarantine, Bureau of Customs, and the Philippine Coast Guard, to accommodate the inbound and outbound travel requirements of seafarers for ease of transactions.
According to Santiago, the project has been on the works since the middle stages of the coronavirus pandemic in order to help the government in the processing of seafarers and to facilitate crew changes being done in the country.
The Philippines, being one of the major suppliers of seafarers in the international market with over 400,000 Filipino seafarers onboard international-going vessels like container ships, general cargo ships, and cruise ships around the world, is expected to greatly benefit from the new facility, Santiago added.
In the last four months, almost a thousand ships have called at the Port of Manila for crew change.
Since the start of the pandemic, crew change woes hounded the international shipping industry as most countries closed their borders in their bid to reduce further infection from transiting seafarers. Crew change is needed to guarantee the well-being of seafarers.