Tanker operators in danger of missing refleeting deadline
THE National Maritime Leasing Corp. (NMLC)
is in no position to help tanker operators finance their refleeting
program due to lack of funds.
The situation brings to fore the question of whether tanker
operators will be able to meet the July 2008 deadline set
by the Maritime Industry Administration (Marina) for the switch
to double-hull tankers from single-hull types.
ÒWe can only entertain loan applications early next
year once we receive the programmed $1-billion grant from
the JBIC (Japan Bank for International Cooperation),Ó
NMLC president and chief executive Agustin Bengzon told PortCalls
at the sidelines of the membership meeting of the Philippines
Interisland Shipping Association last week.
For now, the company can only finance purchase of roll on-roll
off vessels designed for missionary routes.
Bengzon explained that JBIC is, as it is, wary of assisting
tanker operators due to the question of profitability in the
business.
The tanker operators, led by the Philippine Petroleum Sea
Transport Association (Philpesta), have asked the government
to help them source funds to finance acquisition of double-hull
vessels.
Philpesta estimates that a double-hull tanker fit for domestic
use, usually around 5,000 GRT, costs between $12 million and
$15 million each.
NMLC only has a total capital expenditure of P200 million,
expected to increase by another P200 million in the second
quarter and to P1.2 billion by end of the year. The bulk of
the funding will come from the $1-billion JBIC grant.
Aside from financial difficulties, Philpesta said its members
are having a problem looking for shipyards that can accommodate
their orders as almost all foreign shipyards are fully booked
until 2012.
Originally, Marina planned to impose the double-hull tanker
requirement later than 2008 to give operators the chance to
secure financing for their refleeting.
But the agency was forced to phase out single-hull tankers
immediately in the domestic trade in the wake of the July
2007 sinking of the MT Solar I. The vessel spilt some 220,000
liters of black oil near Guimaras island contaminating Guimaras
and its nearby islands.
The Marina requirement is also a parallel move to the order
of the International Maritime Organization banning the use
of single-hull tankers in the international trade.
At the international level, single-hull tankers have been
banned from entering ports in European Union (EU) countries
since October 2003 after the sinking of the supertanker Prestige,
which broke in half on November 2002 off the coast of Galicia,
Spain. The vessel spilled half of the 77,000 tons of oil it
was carrying, damaging the beaches of Iberian Peninsula and
killing marine life. That incident followed the sinking of
the Erika, another tanker, off the coast of France in December
1999.
Not long after, oil tankers aged 23 years and above were banned
from entering all EU ports.
THE Chamber of Customs Brokers, Inc. (CCBI)
last week elected its new set of officers for the next two
years.
Roland Quiambao is the chamber’s new president, replacing
Atty Jose Leabres.
Also elected were Albert Jardin, executive vice president;
Zenaida Dayanghirang, vice president for internal affairs;
Roberta Riga, vice president for external affairs; Gerlie
Perez, vice president for professional development; Dennis
del Pilar, treasurer; Manuel Yuhico, auditor; and Dennis Calica,
secretary and PRO.
Directors include Leabres, former CCBI presidents Diosdado
Santiago and Atty Leonides David, Gregorio Lamanilao, Rodolfo
Salazar and Jesus Banal.
Rogelio Villagarcia will represent the board to the Bureau
of Customs.
Wanted:
100% Filipino-owned multimodal transport provider
THE Department of Transportation and Communications
(DOTC) is on the lookout for a Filipino intermodal transport
service provider after rejecting proposals of a Japanese firm
to operate such service in the country.
ÒThe service provider should still be controlled by
Filipinos. However, we will study the possibility of allowing
a foreign firm to operate if local firms cannot provide what
is asked for,Ó Transport Secretary Leandro Mendoza
said.
Last year, the Japanese government signified its interest
in setting up and operating full intermodal transportation
services in the country.
The service requires provision of sea to rail or sea to land
transportation of cargoes, land to sea and land-to-land transportation
or door-to-door delivery.
The DOTC is now deliberating on the process of accrediting
multimodal service providers, and determining which government
agency will issue such accreditation.
The government has earmarked P380 billion to develop the country’s
intermodal transportation in the next four years, starting
with the Strong Republic Nautical Highway. A total of 31 airports,
28 seaports and seven railway systems have been identified
to kick start the development of intermodal transportation
starting this year. These are in the Òsuper regionsÓ
mentioned by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo in her State
of the Nation Address last year, including the North Luzon
Agri-Business Quadrangle, Metro Luzon Urban Beltway Region,
Central Philippines Region, and Mindanao region.
Earlier, the Philippine Interisland Shipping Association said
the country’s intermodal transpor-tation network need
not involve the ambitious ship-to-rail, car-to-truck transfer
of cargoes; the sea-to-land and land-to-sea concept would
work just as well.
THE Bureau of Customs (BOC) recently reported
a drop in collection for the first month of the year but expressed
optimism it will overshoot its quarterly collection target
this year.
Latest data from the BOC showed it collected P12.272 billion,
12.25% lower than the target for January.
Customs commissioner Napoleon Morales in a statement said
the low revenue take in January was expected because the first
two months of the year were traditionally lean months. ÒWe’re
not bothered because normally January and February have low
collections. People had just celebrated the New Year and there
are also adjustments in collection, but we will meet our first-quarter
target,Ó he explained.
The BOC’s collection target for 2007 is P228 billion.
Customs is expecting a boost in revenues with the implementation
of the non-intrusive container x-ray scanners, and the AsycudaWorld
software, which seeks to automate operations and intensify
the crackdown against smuggling.
BOC has also issued Customs Memorandum Order (CMO) 4-2007,
aimed at implementing accountability measures in smuggling
of agricultural products. The CMO was issued in relation to
the memorandum of agreement signed by the Department of Agriculture
(DA), the Department of Finance and Customs late last year.
Under the CMO, the deputy commissioner for administration
will keep a logbook that shows everyone who signed the import
entries.
“We will now be able to pinpoint lapses and charge administratively
and probably criminally those found guilty of facilitating
anomalous transactions,” Morales said.
Get groundwork ready for Revised Kyoto Protocol, AISL advises gov't
THE Association of International Shipping
Lines (AISL) wants the government to align its infrastructure
programs with the requirements of the Revised Kyoto Protocol.
ÒThis early the country should align its infrastructure
projects, particularly when it comes to information technology,
with its plan to comply with the Revised Kyoto Convention
in order to do away with laying down another set of infrastructure
once it (convention) is implemented. (This will) save (the
government) time and additional cost,Ó AISL general
manager Atty. Max Cruz said.
He said accession to the convention may be hindered once key
infrastructure are not in place.
The revised Kyoto convention, an international agreement designed
to boost cross-border trade, requires uniform and simpler
procedures, and the maximum use of information technology
to do away with paper work. A total of 49 countries have already
acceded to the 1999 agreement.
The government is eyeing June this year for the country’s
accession to the convention, in time for the World Customs
Organization’s general council meeting.
The government has started looking into laws and comparing
them with regulations and minimum standards required by the
treaty.
The Bureau of Customs has submitted to the Office of the President
draft guidelines related to the country’s accession
to the revised convention.
Once approved and adopted, the country will have a 36-month
transition to shift its current processes to that required
of the treaty.
Earlier, the Aircargo Forwarders of the Philippines, Inc.
(AFPI) urged the government to fast track its accession to
the revised protocol to facilitate cross-border trade.
AFPI president Jaime Roxas said concurrence to the convention
will increase cargo volume, which has been going down in the
past three years.
