THE Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) has issued Administrative Order (AO) 04-2003 setting guidelines for pilotage services rendered in all ports under its jurisdiction, and their corresponding fees.
PPA said the implementation of the pilotage order is in response to complaints raised by domestic and international shipping lines regarding the obscure definition of the service in different pilotage districts.
Under the order, PPA has specifically identified the required pilotage services for entering and leaving ports in every pilotage district. For instance, in the baseport of Sta. Clara, Batangas (foreign and multi-purpose berth), pilots will only be required to render docking or mooring or anchoring and undocking or unmooring or leaving anchorage.
In the North and South Harbors, services will only range from channeling in and channeling out, to docking and undocking, and to mooring and unmooring. PPA said the order aims to prevent pilots from overcharging or from rendering unnecessary services which add to the overall transport cost.
Still, under the AO, pilots may render special services not required in a particular district but requested by the master or the vessel’s agent. These include shifting, bow-out docking, ship to ship docking/undocking, dead ship docking/undocking or mooring/unmooring, meeting vessel at a point other than the pilot’s boarding station/quarantine anchorage, untwisting, mediterranean mooring/docking and chanelling in/out.
The pilot’s boarding station, PPA said, must serve as the sole point of meeting and boarding vessels and point of unboarding pilot for departing vessels. “In other ports where a pilot’s boarding station has not yet been designated, pilots shall service vessels at a safe distance of not less than one nautical mile from the anchorage,” it said.
PPA noted the rates for every movement of the vessel are still based on specifications under Executive Order 1088. Foreign vessels with less than 500 gross registered tonnage (GRT) have to pay $30; 500 to 2,500 GRT, $43.33; 2,500 to 5,000 GRT, $71.33; 5,000 to 10,000 GRT, $133.67; 10,000 to 15,000 GRT, $181.67; 15,000 to 20,000 GRT, $247; 20,000 to 30,000 GRT, $300; and 30,000 to 40,000 GRT, $416.67.
International vessels with GRT ranging from 40,000 to 140,000 will be required to pay $483.33 to $766.67. For every excess tonnage above 140,000 GRT, vessel agents have to pay $0.05 or its peso equivalent.
Coastwise vessels, on the other hand, are required to pay the following rates: for 100 and under 500 GRT, P41.70; 500 and under 600 GRT, P55.60; 600 and under 1,000 GRT, P69.60; 1,000 and under 3,000 GRT, P139.20; 3,000 and under 5,000 GRT P194.80; and 5,000 GRT and over, P300.
PPA said it is strictly implementing the ‘no service, no pay’ principle to stress effectivity of the new ruling. – Maritess R. Mesias
