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The Maritime Industry Authority reiterated the need for domestic shipping companies to strictly enforce safety requirements and emergency protocols following several recent maritime incidents that left more than 40 people dead
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In a new memo, MARINA gave a reminder on the required safety briefing for passengers, life jacket requirements, conduct of emergency drills, and the ship master’s riding overriding authority in relation to ship, crew, and passenger safety
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MARINA emphasized that non-compliance to these requirements will be subject to applicable penalties and sanctions, including suspension of the Safety Certificate, after due process and in accordance with existing laws, rules, and regulations
The Maritime Industry Authority (MARINA) reiterated the need for domestic shipping companies to strictly enforce safety requirements and emergency protocols following several recent maritime incidents that left more than 40 people dead.
In MARINA Advisory (MA) No. 2026-04, the maritime authority reminded shipowners/operators, ship mangers, officers, and crew on strict compliance to existing rules and regulations, including, among others, the Philippine Ship Safety Rules and Regulations (PSSRR) for Passenger Ships, and MARINA Circular (MC) No. 2015-11 on the implementation of International Safety Management Code in domestic vessels.
MC No. 72, as amended by MC No. 136, requires a minimum 10-minute passenger safety briefing to be conducted prior to departure.
The safety briefing should include a safety film or video presentation, actual demonstration on wearing of lifejackets by the crew, and regular announcements through the public address system of the safety features and what to do during emergency situations.
Passenger vessels should also display clear, durable, and easily understood safety posters and signages in conspicuous parts of the ship. These should provide information on the location of lifejackets and life rafts/lifeboats; wearing of lifejackets and use of the whistle; signages to emergency exits; location of the muster station or designated evacuation assembly area; and display of the general emergency alarms.
Exits and emergency exits should be clear and free from any obstruction and clearly marked at all times. Exits and emergency exit signages should also be illuminated or visible under emergency lighting conditions and installed along escape routes, corridors, and stairways.
Shipping companies are also enjoined to provide safety cards and/or QR codes to access emergency and safety protocols including emergency numbers of the company.
Per MC No. 114, the ship’s officers and crew, including security personnel, should wear proper uniform and IDs so that passengers can easily identify them, especially those needing information or assistance.
Under the PSSSR for Passenger Ships, the ship master should also ensure a sufficient number of life jackets in good condition at all times during voyages.
All life jackets must be stored and stowed under the seats, bunks or in reachable, readily available and easily accessible manner or distributed to each and every passenger upon embarkation. Lifejack cabinets should also be properly marked with lifejacket symbols in luminous material and not be locked during voyage.
Ship masters, meanwhile, should ensure familiarization in the use of life-saving appliances and firefighting equipment, and the regular conduct of drills as prescribed in their shipboard safety management system.
The overriding authority of the ship master in relation to safety of the ship, crew and passengers should be recognized and respected at all times.
MARINA emphasized that non-compliance to these requirements will be subject to applicable penalties and sanctions, including suspension of the Safety Certificate, after due process and in accordance with existing laws, rules, and regulations.
Last month, acting transportation secretary Giovanni Lopez ordered a comprehensive compliance monitoring and inspection of the country’s domestic shipping fleet following recent accidents, including the January 26 sinking of a roll-on/roll-off ferry in southern Philippines that claimed at least 45 lives.
READ: MARINA starts safety audit of grounded Aleson Shipping fleet
MARINA Enforcement Service director and spokesperson Luisito Delos Santos said MARINA recognizes that recent accidents in domestic shipping “point to serious and systemic safety challenges within the country’s maritime transport sector.”
He pointed out that accidents occurring even in fair weather conditions “demonstrate that safety risks are not limited to weather alone, but extend to vessel seaworthiness, maintenance practices, operational discipline, and safety management systems.”
The comprehensive compliance monitoring and inspection aim to “establish a formal inventory classifying vessels and operators into high-risk, moderate-risk, and low risk.” A risk-based approach in monitoring ship operators’ safety and security compliance will allow MARINA – with its limited manpower – to focus on high-risk vessels and operators, Delos Santos said.
