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The Maritime Industry Authority has revised its schedule of administrative fines and penalties for violations of its rules and regulations, increasing rates to promote compliance
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The revised schedule is contained in MARINA Memorandum Circular No. GC-2026-02
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It takes effect May 22 or 15 days after its publication on May 7.
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MARINA administrator Sonia Malaluan last year said the objective of increasing penalties is to make it cheaper to comply than to violate, and that penalties should be a deterrent for offenses
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MC GC-2026-02 repeals, amends, or modifies the penal provisions of various MARINA issuances, including that of the almost three-decade old MARINA Circular 120
The Maritime Industry Authority (MARINA) has issued a revised schedule of administrative fines and penalties for violations of its rules and regulations, increasing rates to promote compliance.
The new schedule under MARINA Memorandum Circular (MC) No. GC-2026-02 aims to provide a rationalized and comprehensive single reference for the schedule of administrative fines and penalties for violations. It also aims to promote and enhance maritime safety and security, and the protection of marine environment, through compliance with existing laws, rules, and regulations.
It takes effect May 22 or 15 days after its publication on May 7.
MARINA administrator Sonia Malaluan last year said they are increasing penalties for maritime offenses to promote compliance. She said the objective is to make it cheaper to comply than to violate, and that penalties should be a deterrent for offenses.
READ: MARINA eyes hike in penalties for maritime offenses
Malaluan earlier noted that some ship/boat operators opt for fines instead of complying with rules since penalties are affordable.
MC GC-2026-02 repeals, amends, or modifies the penal provisions of various MARINA issuances, including that of the almost three-decade old MARINA Circular 120, issued in 1997, which lists maritime offenses and their corresponding penalties.
MC GC-20216-02 applies to all shipowners/operators shipping companies, fishing companies, shipbuilders, ship repairers, boatbuilding operators, seafarers, and other maritime enterprises/entities regulated by MARINA.
There are six annexes to MC No. GC-2026-02, listing the violations and its corresponding fines and penalties depending on the sector: Annex A (domestic shipping), Annex B (overseas shipping), Annex C (shipyards regulation); Annex D (maritime safety), Annex E (maritime workforce), and Annex F (franchising).
Any act, omission, or negligence that violates or constitutes a breach of existing MARINA rules and regulations, for which no specific fine or penalty is provided in MC No. GC-2026-02 or its annexes, will be subject to a penalty of P5,000 for the first violation, P10,000 for the second violation, and P30,000 plus cancellation or revocation of the related permit, license, or any authority issued by MARINA for the third and subsequent violations.
MC No. GC-2026-02 does not include, however, Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarer-related circulars, which may be included in future issuances.
Under the new MC, marine casualties are classified in the following
- Very serious – marine incidents involving total loss of the ship, loss of life, or severe damage to the environment.
- Serious – marine incidents that do not qualify as very serious and involves, among others, fire, explosion, grounding, contact, heavy weather damage, ice damage, hull cracking or structural defect, pollution, breakdown necessitating towage or shore assistance, and structural damage rendering the ship actually or temporarily unseaworthy.
- Less serious – any marine incident that does not qualify as very serious or serious.
For very serious marine casualties, the fines depend on the type of ship, with the penalty of revocation of the responsible person’s licenses, and suspension of the ship’s safety certificate for six months or of the entity’s Certificate of Public Convenience for 30 days, or until the safety documents of the entire fleet are verified by MARINA to be compliant, whichever is earlier.
The fines are the following:
- Tankers, dredgers, specialized and highly-specialized ships – P1.5 million
- Passenger ships, cargo ships, passenger-cargo ships – P1 million
- Others – P800,000
For serious marine casualties, the penalty is suspension of the responsible person’s licenses, and suspension of the ship’s safety certificate for 1-3 months, or revocation for repeat offenders or incidents involving gross negligence.
The fines are the following:
- Tankers, dredgers, specialized and highly-specialized ships – P1 million
- Passenger ships, cargo ships, passenger-cargo ships – P500,000
- Others – P300,000
For less serious marine casualties, the penalty is suspension of the responsible person’s licenses, and suspension of the ship’s safety certificate until compliance on deficiencies.
The fines for less serious marine casualties are the following:
- Tankers, dredgers, specialized and highly-specialized ships – P300,000
- Passenger ships, cargo ships, passenger-cargo ships – P200,000
- Others – P100,000
MC No. GC-2026-02 notes that the administrative fines and penalties apply only when the marine casualty is attributable to fault, negligence, or a breach of MARINA rules and regulations. Casualties arising solely from unavoidable accidents or circumstances absent negligence will not be penalized, as well as those due to force majeure or other causes beyond the control of the person or entity involved, provided that all reasonable safety measures were in place and observed.
For serious and very serious marine casualties, MARINA, in determining the final penalty, may also increase or reduce the imposable fines depending on mitigating and aggravating circumstances.
Up to 20% of the imposable fine may be reduced for each mitigating circumstance, provided that the total reduction will not exceed 50% of the imposable fine. Such mitigating circumstances include voluntary reporting, immediate and effective emergency response, transparent cooperation with authorities, no prior safety violation, and other analogous circumstances.
Up to 20% of the imposable fine may be added for each aggravating circumstance, provided it will not exceed 100% of the imposable fine. Aggravating circumstances include willful negligence, concealment of acts, prior similar to any other violations, resulting multiple deaths, and other analogous circumstances.
READ: MARINA emphasizes safety musts in new memo to shipping firms
MC No. GC-2026-02 also states that filing of an administrative or civil case will not preclude the institution of a criminal case. Moreover, a final judgment in an administrative action absolving the respondent of the liability under MC No. GC-2026-02 will not prevent the filing of criminal prosecution or civil action based on the same or similar acts or omissions that were the subject of the administrative proceedings.— Roumina Pablo
