The Philippines Positioned As The World’s Maritime Capital

The Department of Transportation (DOTr) mentioned yesterday that it would establish the country as the “Maritime Capital of the World” by offering the worldwide maritime industry with top-notch Filipino seafarers.

Jaime Bautista, the DOTr Secretary, said that the agency is all set to address current challenges encountered by the maritime industry for the country to achieve such a reputation.

Considered Key Global Workers, seafarers help expedite the movement of about 90% of goods worldwide, where one-third of the world-movers are usually Filipinos, Bautista elaborated.

With Filipino seafarers remitting about $595 million in September alone and a year-end remittance projection worth $7.1 billion, more than 600,000 Filipino seafarers directly contribute to the country’s socio-economic development, the transport chief explained.

Besides implementing reforms for the Filipino maritime industry’s compliance with world standards, the DOTr comes with a Maritime Industry Development Plan worth 10 points to claim the country’s mark in the worldwide marine industry.

The plan covers domestic shipping modernization, the expansion of shipbuilding as well as repair capabilities, the development of a marine industrial park, marine environment protection, the developing of inland waterway networks, and also addressing the assessment findings received from the European Commission and the independent evaluators of International Maritime Organization (IMO) with corrective actions on multiple levels, among the rest.

Bautista mentioned that DOTr, via the Maritime Industry Authority, is exerting efforts to implement and supervise corrective actions for almost 50,000 Filipino seafarers now employed by several European-flagged ships.

In one related development, the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines said yesterday that it had passed the international safety standards of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) with 69% as its score, which crossed the global average of 67.6%.

The higher rating comes after the offsite validation activity was conducted last 1 September, where ICAO subject matter specialists had observed that there are no major safety concerns for the Philippines.

The main objective of such an activity is to make sure those techniques and principles set standards and recommend the state practices leading practices related to international civil aviation activities to establish aviation’s safe and orderly growth.

ICAO is an UN-specialized agency with 193 member states that set regulations and standards for aviation safety, efficiency, security, and environmental protection.
The ICAO assesses the UN member states’ capabilities and capacities to implement an effective safety oversight of aviation operations.

References: Malaya Business Insight