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MARINA 'dropping the ball' on PH compliance with EU regulations, says Locsin
MARINA 'dropping the ball' on PH compliance with EU regulations, says Locsin
By Roy Mabasa
The Maritime Industry Authority (MARINA) has been ‘dropping the ball’ on the issue of closing down incompetent maritime schools in the Philippines for the last 16 years, Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. said on Tuesday.
In a tweet, Locsin disclosed that the European Union (EU) brought to his attention during his first week in office the problems concerning the accreditation of Filipino mariners or seafarers and the competency of some maritime higher education and institutions (MHEIs) in the country.
“EU also alerted me in my first week in office to focus on fixing the accreditation of Filipino mariners by the EU- and guided me on how to keep their accreditation by closing incompetent maritime schools. I passed the ball to Marina who dropped the ball. Been dropping it for 16 years,” the foreign secretary said.
Exactly a year ago this month, representatives from the European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA) visited Manila and conducted a final audit to determine the country’s fitness to continue deploying seafarers into European waters.
The EMSA audit team was tasked to verify the system in place and assess the maritime administrations, maritime education, and training institutions in the country.
They visited MARINA, Commission on Higher Education (CHED) and evaluated three assessment centers and nine MHEIs located in Manila, Zambales, Cebu, Tagbilaran, and Iloilo areas.
According to an EU paper obtained by the Manila Bulletin last year, the EMSA audit team chose a “representative sample” of the more or less 100 maritime schools scattered throughout the country.
The inspection of the pre-selected MHEIs by the EMSA audit team was based on the high number of students and their relevance to the EU fleet, being a good sample to ensure that all the information presented in the factual report is representative of the current situation in the Philippines.
As a major provider of seafarers globally, the Philippines was first inspected and re-assessed in 2006 when it was already found to be “not complying in full” with the International Convention on the Standards of Training, Certification, and Watchkeeping (STCW) requirements.
In the EMSA audits conducted in 2010, 2012, 2013, 2014, and 2017, the Philippines was still found not complying with the STCW.
In particular, EMSA is very strict in implementing the STCW provisions on training facilities and procedures of countries supplying seafarers to European flagged vessels.
The European Commission even agreed to delay the next round of inspection to 2020 to allow the Philippines to take “corrective actions” and to implement Executive Order 63 signed by President Duterte in September 2018, which gives MARINA more power to implement and enforce the STCW Convention.
At the same time, the European Commission informed the Philippines that 2020 would be the “final inspection” before a decision on extending or withdrawing the recognition by the EU is taken.
More than 30,000 Filipino ship officers bearing certificates of recognition issued by European shipowners will be left jobless should the Philippines fail to hurdle the final EMSA inspection.
The EU, however, has yet to release the outcome of its inspections as well as its recommendations to correct the alleged deficiencies in the country’s maritime administration and education sector.