The Maritime Industry Authority (Marina) has inspected passenger and cargo ships in various ports nationwide to ensure the safety of hundreds of thousands of sea travelers this Holy Week.
In a statement, the Marina said that it conducted an intensified compliance monitoring (ICM) drive from April 1 to 12, during which time it inspected 113 passenger ships.
The two-week inspection “aimed to verify the seaworthiness and regulatory compliance of vessels” ahead of one of the busiest travel seasons in the country.
Of the vessels inspected, 10 (8.85 percent) were suspended “due to safety-related deficiencies,” the Marina said.
However, six of the grounded vessels were cleared to resume operations after completing corrective actions and passing a re-inspection, the agency noted.
“These inspections aren’t just for compliance—they’re for safe operations of ships for the benefit of our riding public,” Marina Administrator Sonia B. Malaluan said.
“We owe it to our passengers to ensure they board ships that are safe, secure, and fully compliant with maritime standards,” she added.
The Marina also deployed personnel to Malasakit help desks at port passenger terminals to assist travelers and help address concerns this Semana Santa.
On Monday, a total of 101,993 inbound and outbound passengers were recorded in all ports across the country, according to the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG).
Earlier, Department of Transportation (DOTr) Secretary Vince Dizon warned shipping lines that they will face severe consequences for abusing and causing inconvenience to passengers by overloading their vessels for more profit.
In fact, he ordered Marina, PCG, and the Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) to issue a show cause order against a Romblon-bound vessel that violated the anti-overloading policy on sea travel on Monday.
The transport chief said the unidentified shipping line will be forced to compensate inconvenienced passengers.