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The Maritime Industry Authority has set the rules on the monitoring of temporary vessel substitution/replacement within Certificate of Public Convenience-authorized liner routes
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The measures under MARINA Advisory No. 2026-50 are pursuant to the Domestic Shipping Development Act of 2004’s implementing rules and regulations, as amended
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A domestic ship operator/owner must notify authorities of a planned substitution/replacement at least seven calendar days prior
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In case of emergency as verified by MARINA, the period of prior notice may be shortened to 24 hours
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Rules are meant to ensure compliance with safety and operational requirements
The Maritime Industry Authority (MARINA) has adopted rules governing the monitoring of temporary vessel substitution and replacement within liner routes authorized under a Certificate of Public Convenience (CPC).
The rules, issued under MARINA Advisory (MA) No. 2026-50, are anchored on Rule III, Section 7.9 of the Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) of Republic Act No. 9295, or the Domestic Shipping Development Act of 2004, as amended. MARINA said the framework is meant to ensure compliance with the safety and operational requirements of domestic vessels operating on the routes indicated in their CPC.
Technical Guidelines (TG) 2026-03 was also issued to provide much more detailed guidelines for MA No. 2026-50.
The advisory formalizes how vessel substitutions and replacements on CPC-authorized routes will be tracked going forward, giving shipping operators clearer monitoring parameters when temporarily deploying alternate vessels to maintain service continuity on their authorized liner routes.
When applying for a Certificate of Public Convenience (CPC) for a liner service under the IRR of RA No. 9295, one of the requirements is for the domestic shipowner or operator to indicate the vessels — grouped by type — and the specific route each vessel will serve.
Under Section 7.9, the CPC grantee has the flexibility to operate its ships under any of its authorized sailing schedule/frequency of ships, subject to the approval by MARINA of the ship(s) qualified to serve the proposed route(s) or port(s) in terms of safety and suitability.
MA No. 2026-50 noted that the maritime authority, having the sole jurisdiction to approve the qualifications of a vessel to serve a proposed route, must ensure that all domestic ships adhere to the safety and operational requirements before allowing them to navigate.
Under MA No. 2026-50, a domestic ship operator/owner, through electronic mail or other authorized method, should submit a Vessel Substitution Form to the MARINA Regional Office-CPC (MRO-CPC) that issued the CPC for the proposed substitution/replacement of ships within any of its CPC authorized routes at least seven calendar days prior to the substitution.
In case of emergency as verified by MARINA, the period of prior notice may be shortened to 24 hours.
The application for vessel substitution/replacement will be at no cost to the ship operator/owner, MA No. 2026-50 noted.
The domestic ship operators/owners should ensure that pertinent safety and other certificates of the ship/s involved must be valid at all times.
The MRO-CPC will approve the proposed substitution upon verification of compliance with the minimum safe manning requirement and crew list indicating the names, positions and licenses of officers as crew, and mandatory minimum service standards applicable to the route where the ship will be deployed.
The MRO-AOR (Area of Responsibility), which has jurisdiction in the area of operation or route, will confirm the suitability of the substitute ship to the route and sailing schedule within its area of jurisdiction and may conduct actual verification/visit prior to the substitute ship’s departure.
If the substitute ship is of the same category with the original ship in terms of compliance with safety and operational requirements, then the MRO-CPC will automatically approve the proposed substitution.
The implementation of MA No. 2026-02, particularly on the suspension of minimum service standards on the lying accommodation of passenger ships will only be considered as intended in MA No. 2026-02.
Violations of MA No. 2026-50 and other MARINA rules and regulations will be dealt with accordingly, the advisory noted.—Roumina Pablo
READ: MARINA pushes for stronger safety oversight on domestic shipping
