THE Maritime Industry Authority (MARINA)
has deferred implementation of the compulsory cargo/passenger
insurance coverage required under Republic Act 9295
or the Domestic Shipping Development Act of 2004.
Through Flag State Administration Advisory
No. 64, the maritime agency said it will in the meantime
continue to observe the status quo on insurance coverage
requirements and issue Certificates of Public Convenience
(CPC) to firms wanting to engage in shipping.
Earlier, the maritime regulator stopped
issuing CPCs to companies that fail to present cargo
and passenger insurance coverage. Under RA 9295, the
insurance coverage for cargo is equivalent to the total
cargo capacity of the vessel; and for passenger, P200,000
per manifest.
Under the deferment policy, the insurance
coverage for passengers has been lowered to P100,000
per passenger while the cargo insurance requirement
will remain per voyage instead of a one-time annual
fee. MARINA said it plans to put together a consortium
of insurance companies that will particularly service
shipping companies.
This is to protect shipping companies
from insurance companies not accredited by the Office
of the Insurance Commission (OIC), an official from
the agency noted. The plan is patterned after the Land
and Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board's
setup with insurance companies. A memorandum of agreement
is currently being negotiated between MARINA and the
OIC.
The compulsory insurance coverage policy
will be implemented once rules and regulations are made
final, said MARINA administrator Vicente T. Suazo, Jr.
Meanwhile, the maritime agency also deferred the classification
requirement for wooden-hulled passenger ships of 150
gross tonnage (GT) under Memorandum Circular No. 199.
Those that will be required to undergo the classification
requirement are vessels with 150 GT and up.
Customs
addresses problem of overstaying containers
THE Bureau of Customs (BOC) is fast
tracking the disposal and release of overstaying containers
at the port of Manila in line with its plan to decongest
the country's major gateway.
Customs commissioner Alberto Lina
said the bureau will adopt a warehouse operating system
that would efficiently monitor overstaying containers.
It is also undertaking a study on innovations in the
auction procedures to get rid of unsolicited items piled
at Customs warehouses.
"We are also currently reviewing
the legality of having 'regular peoples' auction days',"
Lina said. About 1,600 containers currently await disposition
at the Manila port. These containers contain cargoes
ranging from vegetables and other perishable products
to electrical equipment, motor vehicles and other dutiable
goods.
"The presence of thousands of
overstaying containers at our ports is a display of
utter lack of care and concern over the condition of
these valuable assets," Lina said. To further monitor
containers, BOC is implementing the "womb-to-tomb"
policy designed to strengthen monitoring capabilities
of port collectors, enabling them to report the whereabouts
of each and every container at the ports.
Lina said this is in response to the
problem of missing containers or contents that mysteriously
disappear while containers are in transit. This is also
part of the bureau's battle against smuggling. "Smugglers
capitalize on the inability of the BOC to monitor the
movement of cargoes at Customs premises," he noted.
Under Lina's administration, the BOC
will be guided by a four-point program which aims to
improve revenue collection; promote trade and facilitate
movement of goods and people; level playing field in
business and streamline systems and procedures; and
upgrade personnel efficiency through empowerment and
training.
TEN port projects throughout the country
amounting to P1.05 billion have been completed as of
December 2004, according to the latest data from the
Philippine Ports Authority (PPA).
The projects mostly in the outports
are: the extension of reinforced concrete (RC) wharves
at the port of Coron (P59.7 million) and port of Puerto
Princesa (P75.04 million); extension of RC pier and
construction of roll-on / roll-off (ro-ro) ramp at the
port of Roxas in Oriental Mindoro (P15.84 million);
reclamation and widening of causeway at the port of
Tubigon, Bohol (P99.14 million); RC pier reclamation
project (P60.98 million); development of Larena port
in Siquijor (P69.17 million); Malangas port development
project in Zamboanga (P34.46 million); reef rack structure
and powerhouse at the port of Davao (P37.29 million);
and RC wharf extension project at the port of Nasispit
in Agusan del Norte (P102.17 million).
Also completed was the marine slipway
berth improvement project at the North Harbor, which
cost P500.41 million. The project is part of the Phase
I Terminal I Development of the North Harbor Modernization
Project. For 2005-2006, PPA has programmed the development
of a modern passenger terminal complex at the North
Harbor similar to the Eva Macapagal Super Terminal at
the South Harbor with an initial estimated funding of
P369 million.
PPA said it will continue to develop
the country's gateway ports and the ro-ro transport
network in the coming years. The major gateways lie
along the major trade routes and control more than 60%
of trade to and from the Philippines, including the
ports of Manila (SH, NH and the Manila International
Container Terminal), Batangas, Cebu, Iloilo, Cagayan
de Oro, General Santos, Davao and Cebu.
The development of ports usually covers
the expansion of existing facilities, reinforcement
of the cargo-handling capacity, relocation / rearrangement
of existing port service facilities to handle the smooth
movement of goods and passengers, installation of cargo
handling equipment as well as terminal monitoring equipment
and the provision of bulk cargo handling equipment,
storage facilities and environmental treatment facilities
at selected ports.
Parallel with the improvement of the
major gateways is the development of different ro-ro
links / phases comprising the Strong Republic Nautical
Highway composed of the Pan Philippine Highway Ferry
Terminals or Eastern Seaboard, Western Seaboard, MIMAROPA
(Mindoro-Marinduque-Romblon-Palawan), Trans-Visayas,
Southwestern and Northeastern transport systems.
RP
to acquire gamma rays, x-rays in support of US CSI
CONCERNED government agencies are already
pooling their resources to adhere to the US government's
Container Security Initiative (CSI) requiring the installation
of detection technologies such as x-ray and gamma ray
machines at ports that handle US-bound shipments. Supported
by the International Maritime Organization, US Customs
introduced CSI and the Customs-Trade Partnership Against
Terrorism three years ago initially focusing on the
top 20 cargo volume ports, with hopes of expanding to
other strategic ports that ship large container volumes
to US ports.
Although the program's initial targets
are mega ports of the world or the largest container
ports that directly do business with the US, the Philippine
government deemed it necessary to comply with the policy
in support of the global battle against terrorism and
to ease trading transactions with the country's second-largest
export market. The Philippines needs at least $40 million
to procure the sophisticated equipment. As expected,
funding is a problem.
Customs commissioner Alberto Lina
told PortCalls seven x-ray machines to be stationed
at the country's main gateways are up for delivery this
year. But he failed to elaborate which agency will fund
the purchase or if the private sector will shoulder
the expense.
For its part, the Philippine Ports
Authority (PPA) said it is earmarking a separate budget
for the procurement of additional x-ray machines for
big container ports under its jurisdiction, particularly
in the outports.
A PPA source said the budget is in
addition to funding expected from the national government
and terminal operators Asian Terminals Inc. and International
Container Terminal Services, Inc.'s. But ATI and ICTSI
sources said they will only fund procurement of their
own equipment.
Earlier, there have been reports that
the national government has already approved the procurement
at least two gamma ray machines to be installed at the
ports of Manila but the National Development Corporation
is having a hard time sourcing the funds. Sources said
the Philippines stands to lose about $15 billion if
it fails to comply with CSI on or before June this year.
ATI's
direct domestic-to-foreign transshipment service cuts
logistics costs
SHIPPERS and shipping lines may now
expect lower costs when transporting domestic cargoes
for export at the South Harbor. Asian Terminals Inc.
(ATI) recently commenced full operations of its direct
domestic-to-foreign transshipment at its domestic and
container terminal divisions.
This year, the company said it has
initiated the expansion of its cargo handling services
by leveraging its rights to operate both as a domestic
and an international terminal. "This has proven
very beneficial to shippers and shipping lines because
of the savings in logistics costs," ATI noted.
Since its commencement in February
this year, the service package has expanded significantly
as more and more shipping lines avail of the service,
it said. ATI added the domestic terminal division is
working closely with Aboitiz Transport System (ATS)
which has strong ties with key shippers and shipping
lines.
The domestic carrier plans to move
the remaining volume it handles at the North Harbor
to ATI's Eva Macapagal Super Terminal by middle of this
year. "ATS is also looking at expanding its fleet
of ships through asset acquisition and this will translate
to a larger volume of passenger and freight movement,"
ATI said.
INTERNATIONAL CONTAINER TERMINAL SERVICES,
INC. recently appointed a project leader to spearhead
ICTSI's expansion into Greater China. Enrique K. Razon
Jr., ICTSI chairman and president, has designated Paul
Lo as Senior Vice President for the Greater China Area
of ICTSI Ltd., ICTSI's overseas projects unit.
Lo is responsible for the identification,
evaluation, propositioning of investments in potential
port projects, and the subsequent negotiation and implementation
of joint venture operations in these ports. He reports
to Edgardo Q. Abesamis, ICTSI executive vice president
and head of Asian projects.
"We welcome Paul to ICTSI. His
track record in the maritime industry as well as his
vast exposure to Chinese trade will ensure ICTSI's positioning
in the Chinese port market," said Razon.
Prior to joining ICTSI, Lo was vice
president of Maersk (China) Shipping Group based in
Beijing, China. During his 20 years with the Maersk
Group, he had held many executive management positions
in Hong Kong, Copenhagen and China.
He was a key mem-ber of the mana-gement
team in pioneering the China business, opening up operations
in China for the Maersk Group. Besides working for Maersk,
Lo was general manager of China and general manager
of China Logistics for the Hutchison Port Holdings Group
for seven years, responsible for the starting up and
management of deep-water joint venture terminal projects
in Shenzhen and Shanghai.
Apart from the terminal development,
he was also responsible for the sourcing of customers
and cargo support for these terminals. Lo is a citizen
of the United States, and a graduate of the University
of Massachusetts.
