The Maritime Industry Authority (Maritime) and Australian government have renewed their maritime partnership with the signing of a new Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on the mutual recognition of seafarer certificates, a move that is expected to help sustain global employment opportunities for Filipino seafarers.

Signed last Feb. 6 in Manila Marina Administrator Sonia B. Malaluan and Australian Ambassador to the Philippines Marc Innes-Brown, the pact covers the mutual recognition of certificates under Regulation I/10 of the 1978 Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping Convention, as amended.

The agreement updated the existing 2002 arrangement between the two countries and clarified Marina’s role as both the certificate-issuing and recognizing Administration, while strengthening mechanisms for cooperation and communication, Marina said.

“For the Philippines, this Memorandum reaffirms our commitment to maintaining a robust and internationally compliant system of training, assessment, and certification for Filipino seafarers, consistent with global maritime expectations,” Malaluan said.

Marina said the agreement will help ensure the continued employment of Filipino seafarers on Australian-flagged vessels. It will also serve as a reference for port State control authorities when verifying the validity of STCW certificates.

For his part, Innes-Brown said the agreement reflects strong confidence in the Philippine maritime system.

“Australia values its long-standing maritime cooperation with the Philippines, and this agreement reflects our mutual trust in each other’s training and certification systems under the STCW Convention,” he noted.

He also underscored the economic impact of maritime ties between the two countries.

“This is not just about certificates – it is about people and prosperity,” Innes-Brown said.

“Almost 95 per cent of Australia’s two-way goods trade with the Philippines is seaborne. In 2024 and 2025 respectively, Australia was visited 52 times by Philippines-flagged vessels – the highest number in the past five years,” he added.

The signing also highlighted Australia’s formal endorsement of the Manila Declaration on Seafarers’ Human Rights, Safety and Well-being. MARINA said this reinforces shared commitments to protecting seafarers and improving working conditions at sea.

The renewed partnership comes as both countries were re-elected to the International Maritime Organization (IMO) Council. It also coincides with the celebration of 80 years of Philippines–Australia bilateral relations this year.

Australia has expanded its maritime engagement with the Philippines in recent years.

In 2024, it established a permanent Australian Border Force presence at its Embassy in Manila to strengthen cooperation on civil maritime concerns, border enforcement, and trade facilitation with Philippine authorities.

Australia is also working with the World Bank to support Marina and the Department of Transportation (DOTr) in developing a roadmap to decarbonize inter-island ferry services, which aligns with Marina’s Maritime Industry Development Plan 2028.