Author: admin

To ensure that the nation complies with the International Maritime Organization’s (IMO) Standards of Training, Certification, and Watchkeeping (STCW) Convention for seafarers, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has issued new directives.

Marcos gave the Maritime Industry Authority (MARINA) instructions to handle maritime school issues, particularly those that do not adhere to criteria for educational quality, during his cabinet meeting on Tuesday, October 11.

At a press briefing, Undersecretary and Office of the Press Secretary officer-in-charge (OIC) Cheloy Velicaria-Garafil said, “The President wants to upgrade the competencies of maritime schools in the country and to fix training programs to give the students an advantage and put them to international standards in order to maintain the country’s rank as the top supplier of seafarers in the world.”

MARINA Administrator Atty. attended the cabinet meeting. Hernani Fabia, Deputy Administrator for Planning at the OIC, Ms. Sonia B. Malaluan, Director of the OIC-STCW Office, Mr. Samuel L. Batalla, and Mr. Luisito U. Santos delos.

The 10-Year Maritime Industry Development Plan for the organization received the President’s backing as well (MIDP).

Prior to this, on September 29 during a meeting with the stakeholders, Secretary for Migrant Workers Susan “Toots” Ople transmitted the President’s directive to address the audits by the IMO Member State Audit Scheme (IMSAS) and the European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA). “Please be aware that this has been the subject of no less than a cabinet meeting. It was an extensive, comprehensive discussion… Please be assured that this is very high on the cabinet’s agenda and on the president’s radar stream.

The president’s directive was not just to abide by the findings, not just to comply, but to address, to do more than comply, to address the root causes that have caused us some adverse findings.

That is part of the president’s marching orders, and the DMW will certainly do its share to ensure that our seafarers are protected and empowered, and your sector as well. The business community will be in the loop and, hopefully, will be our partners in presenting to the world our reform agenda at the DMW and under the Marcos administration,” Ople said.

FILIPINO SEAFARERS NOW INCLUDED IN PRIORITY LIST IN THE NAT’L COVID-19 VACCINATION PROGRAM

Filipino seafarers get a closer shot at getting vaccines against COVID-19 as the Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) approves the recommendation of the Department of Transportation (DOTr) to include them in the priority recipients listed in the government’s national vaccination rollout. “This is a very good development for our maritime industry champions— our seafarers. Now, our Filipino seafarers will be given priority to be vaccinated. Paulit-ulit ko pong inilalarawan ang ating maritime workforce bilang mga silent workers ng bayan. They work silently, yet their contribution is as crucial as keeping the economy thriving. Not only are they frontliners, but they are undoubtedly HEROES, too,” DOTr Secretary Arthur P. Tugade expressed. DOTr OIC Assistant Secretary for Maritime VADM Narciso Vingson Jr., who also chairs the Inter-Agency Working Group tasked to firm up the DOTr’s proposal on the priority vaccination of Filipino seafarers in recognition of the vital role they play amid the present global crisis, presented the proposal and justification in a meeting with the IATF. “The working group is in the unified position to push for the prioritization of Filipino seafarers in the country’s COVID-19 vaccination program to secure their employment, and to ensure the safe shipping operations of essential goods amid the pandemic,” Asec. Vingson said. Aside from DOTr, the working group is composed of officials from the Maritime Industry Authority (MARINA), Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), Philippine Overseas Employment Agency (POEA), Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA), Bureau of Quarantine (BOQ), and the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) through its Maritime and Ocean Affairs Office (MOAO). It also represents the local Licensed Manning Agencies through the membership of the Association of Licensed Manning Agencies (ALMA), Joint Manning Group (JMG), Filipino Association for Mariner’s Employment (FAME), and the Philippine Association of Manning Agencies and Ship Managers (PAMAS). From falling under B3 (Other essential workers) or B5 (Overseas Filipino Workers) in the Vaccination Priority Framework, the Inter-Agency Working Group has requested for the reclassification of Filipino seafarers to A4 (Frontline personnel in essential sectors, including uniformed personnel and those in working sectors identified by the IATF as essential during ECQ). This makes seafarers move at the top 4 priority groups to be vaccinated. With the arrival of COVID-19 vaccines in the country, the IATF has adopted early this year the prioritization framework and criteria of the national immunization rollout to allocate the first tranches of vaccines given its limited global supply. Furthermore, the prioritization of seafarers in the vaccination is based on the following grounds: Filipino seafarers are declared key workers globally and locally; Filipino seafarers are considered mobile, who, as part of their jobs, frequently enter various ports across the world; and shipping companies prefer their workforce to be vaccinated to ensure that their operations will remain smooth, unhampered, and somehow immune to the severe effects of COVID-19. To further determine the specific population to be prioritized, the Working Group classified seafarers into two. Top priority will be given to active seafarers or those with recorded sea service within the last three (3) years, while new seafarers or those with last recorded sea service beyond 2018 shall be ranked second. Per MARINA and POEA data, there are a total of 549,000 active seafarers registered in their system, wherein around 497,000 are those deployed overseas and 51,000 are serving locally. Meanwhile, a total of 181,000 seafarers are without updated sea service within the last three (3) years. In summary, there are 730,651 Filipino seafarers who are for consideration in the A4 category.

NTF ALLOWS ENTRY OF FOREIGN SEAFARERS FOR CREW CHANGE THE NATIONAL TASK FORCE AGAINST COVID-19 (NTF)

The National Task Force Against COVID-19 (NTF) has amended its earlier advisory by exempting foreign seafarers, who are holders of 9 (c) crew list visa, from the month-long temporary travel ban. In yesterday’s meeting of the Inter Agency Task Force on the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases, Task Force members agreed to consider the appeals of licensed manning agencies (LMAs) to allow entry of foreign seafarers scheduled to arrive in the country to do crew changes. Hence, the NTF issued right away another advisory, amending its earlier one by allowing entry of “foreign seafarers under the government’s ‘Green Lanes’ program for crew change provided they hold a 9(c) crew list visa at the time of their entry.” The new NTF advisory, issued on March 18, 2021 was also signed by its NTF Chairman Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana.  It will take effect on  March 22 until Wednesday, April 21, 2021. Last March 16, the NTF issued an advisory imposing a limit on international inbound arrivals to a maximum of 1,500 only.  Among others, it specified that only foreign nationals who are holders of resident visa or the 9(e) visa would be allowed entry. The LMA’s, however, quickly expressed concerns since this would have serious effect on the country’s crewing community.  After learning of the earlier advisory, shipowners immediately cancelled the scheduled port calls of their ships to conduct crew changes in the country.  The new advisory, allowing entry of foreign seafarers for purposes of crew change, hopes to avert these cancellations to help Filipino seafarers join their ships and relieve those onboard.