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The Maritime Industry Authority will be undertaking a comprehensive compliance monitoring and inspection of the country’s entire domestic fleet following recent maritime incidents
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The inspection of the entire domestic fleet aims to “establish a formal inventory classifying vessels and operators into high-risk, moderate-risk, and low risk”
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MARINA Enforcement Service director and spokesperson Luisito Delos Santos said recent maritime incidents, such as those that occurred even in fair weather conditions, signal that existing controls and routine oversight are no longer sufficient
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Delos Santos said MARINA will strengthen and come up with a more proactive and risk-based approach to maritime safety regulation and enforcement
The Maritime Industry Authority (MARINA) will be undertaking a comprehensive compliance monitoring and inspection of the country’s entire domestic fleet following recent maritime incidents, including the sinking of a roll-on/roll-off ferry in southern Philippines that claimed 19 lives.
The inspection aims to “establish a formal inventory classifying vessels and operators into high-risk, moderate-risk, and low risk”, MARINA Enforcement Service director and spokesperson Luisito Delos Santos said in an online press briefing on January 28.
By coming up with a risk-based approach in monitoring ship operators’ compliance on safety and security requirements, Delos Santos said this will allow MARINA – with its limited manpower – to focus on high-risk vessels and operators.
Delos Santos said MARINA recognizes that the recent incidents in domestic shipping, including the sinking of Aleson Shipping Lines, Inc.’s MV Trisha Kerstin 3, “point to serious and systemic safety challenges within the country’s maritime transport sector.”
He pointed out that incidents 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.”
“This is a clear signal that existing controls and routine oversight are no longer sufficient,” he noted.
Delos Santos said MARINA will strengthen and come up with a more proactive and risk-based approach to maritime safety regulation and enforcement.
He said this means preventing accidents through intensified safety audits, more frequent and targeted inspections of high-risk vessels and operators, and stricter accountability for shipowners and managers.
“Our objective is straightforward: to prevent avoidable tragedies, protect lives at sea, and restore public confidence by ensuring that safety is never treated as optional in domestic shipping,” Delos Santos said.
He acknowledged though that conducting the inspection on the country’s entire domestic fleet will be challenging given MARINA’s limited manpower and with around 16,000 vessels, including fishing, cargo, and passengers, and other vessel types.
He also noted that MARINA conducts regular inspections and audits, but that due to its limited manpower, there are small boats in far-flung areas that they cannot reach, hence the continued coordination with the Philippine Coast Guard.
Still, Delos Santos assured the public that MARINA will take a sustainable and pro-active approach in its audit and intensified compliance monitoring of the domestic fleet.
The inspection was ordered by Acting Transportation secretary Giovanni Lopez after the sinking of Zamboanga City-based Aleson Shipping Lines’ vessel, MV Trisha Kerstin 3, on January 26, leaving at least 19 dead and 10 others still missing. Another 316 were rescued.
READ: MARINA to issue permits for routes of grounded Aleson Shipping
The roll-on/roll-off passenger ferry was en route to Jolo, Sulu from Zamboanga City when it sank in waters near Basilan.
The Department of Transportation (DOTr) ordered the grounding of Aleson Shipping Lines’ passenger fleet and the conduct of a full-blown investigation into the incident as well as the conduct of an inspection of the country’s entire domestic fleet.
Lopez cited that Aleson Shipping Lines has been involved in 32 maritime incidents since 2019. This was confirmed by Delos Santos, who said these incidents include engine trouble, engine failure, allision, collision, ramming, grounding, steering failure, hydraulic malfunction, near miss or tilting, man overboard, fire on board, sinking.
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He noted though that some of the deficiencies were rectifiable, which meant the concerned vessel’s safety certificate was not suspended, while other incidents led to the suspension of the safety certificate of the concerned vessel.– Roumina Pablo
