BY mid-month, additional documents will be
required by the Maritime Industry Authority (Marina) on all
sea vessels carrying goods in the domestic trade.
Marina Circular No. 2008-03 or the “Rules and Regulations
to Implement the Code of Safe Practice for Cargo Stowage and
Securing in Domestic Shipping” orders all shipping lines
to have a cargo securing manual (CSM).
The manual should carry guidelines on the safe stowage and
securing of all types of cargoes on board other than solid
and liquid bulk cargoes and timber stowed on deck except open-deck
wooded-hulled ships with outrigger below 35 gross tons (GT).
The circular was released following reports many sea accidents
were caused by improper cargo stowage, especially now with
the popularity of roll-on-roll off vessels.
“Cargo, cargo units and cargo transport units shall
be loaded, stowed and secured throughout the voyage in accordance
with the CSM approved by the administration (Marina),”
the circular said.
Cargo units refer to vehicles such as cars, railway wagons,
containers, flats, pallets, portable tanks, intermediate bulk
containers, packed units, unit loads, other carrying units
such as shipping cassettes, cargo entities such as steel coils
and heavy cargo items such as locomotives and transformers.
Also considered a cargo unit is the loading equipment or any
part of it transported on the ship, but which is not permanently
fixed to the ship.
The circular provides for review and evaluation of the documents
with fees ranging from P300 for ships with less than 15 GT
to P3,000 for those with 250 GT and above.
Marina will also charge for the issuance of the compliance
certificate and annual endorsement of the said document. The
certificate is valid for five years from the date of issue
but should be endorsed annually by Marina. The document ceases
to be valid if no endorsement has been made.
Non compliance carries penalties of P25,000 for the first
offense to P100,000 for the third offense and possible cancellation
of the licenses of both the captain and the shipping company.
Chamber remains the APO until Dec
2009, claims CCBI
THE Chamber of Customs Brokers, Inc (CCBI)
said its position as the Accredited Professional Organization
(APO) is secure until December 2009.
In a letter to Customs Commissioner Napoleon Morales, the
CCBI said its contention is based on a ruling by the Philippine
Association of Professional Regulatory Board Members, Inc.
(PAPRB), the body deputized by the Professional Regulation
Commission (PRC) to receive and evaluate documents submitted
by various APOs in the renewal of their PRC accreditation.
According to PAPRB policies and procedures by virtue of PRC
Resolution 2006-356 series of 2006, the next cycle of re-accreditation
shall be 2010-2012, and every three years thereafter while
the next renewal cycle shall commence September 1, 2009 until
December 31, 2009 and every three years thereafter.
“Re-accreditation of newly accredited APOs shall follow
the next calendarized cycle. Hence, there is automatic re-accreditation
for those APOs whose date of accreditation falls below the
three-year period at the time of the calendarized renewal
cycle unless there is cause to suspend accreditation,”
the resolution said.
In its letter to Commissioner Morales the CCBI said that based
on the PAPRB ruling, it is not required to renew accreditation
for the calendarized three-year cycle covering 2007-2010 as
it has been automatically re-accredited for the period.
“This means that the automatic re-accreditation of CCBI
expires on December 31, 2009 as renewal is covered by the
next renewal cycle September 1, 2009 until December 31, 2009,”
the chamber said.
Last December, the Professional Customs Brokers Association
of the Philippines, Inc (PCBAPI), National Customs Brokerage
Association of the Philippines, and Visayas-Mindanao Customs
Brokers Association requested the PRC to accredit their group
as APO since the accreditation of CCBI as such has supposedly
expired on December 5, 2007 and no PRC renewal has been forthcoming.
“Since December, there has been no accredited APO under
RA 9280 (Customs Brokers Act of 2004) as the PRC has yet to
approve the application filed by CCBI. With this, we are pushing
for our accreditation as the next APO,” PCBAPI chair
Honorato Colico said.
CCBI said the groups filed a petition for cancellation/revocation
of CCBI’s accreditation granted under Administrative
Case No. 29 and scheduled a pre-trial conference last January
29, 2008.
“…that PRC scheduled a pre-trial conference recognizes
the fact the CCBI is still the National Accredited Professional
Organization for Customs Brokers,” CCBI emphasized in
the letter.
Since the passage of RA 9280, several customs broker association
have been questioning the legal personality of CCBI as the
APO of brokers.
”
SUBIC Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) has
issued a notice of violation of safety standards to Hanjin
Heavy Industries Co-Philippines (HHICP) for last month’s
dockyard incident which killed two workers and injured four
others.
In its findings report, SBMA chair Feliciano Salonga said
the company violated five out of 12 safety issues: organization
of an effective safety and health committee, provision of
company physician, provision of adequate and appropriate personal
protective equipment, provision of additional safety signage,
and provision of safety officers.
Ecology Center manager Amethay DL. Koval said the notice of
violation carried with it corresponding fines and penalties
for each violation noted.
“The HHIC-Phil has taken actions to correct some of
the 12 safety issues noted during the investigation, but there
were five issues for which we had to serve a notice of violation,”
she added.
The SBMA action followed an order by SBMA Administrator Armand
Arreza to investigate Hanjin shipyard’s safety program
and determine whether the company, or any of its subcontractors,
were remiss in implementing safety measures on the worksite.
Koval said the investigation conducted by the SBMA Ecology
Center’s Occupational Health and Safety Division (OHSD)
from January 18 to 25 involved an ocular inspection of the
accident site, data gathering and review of documents, interview
with Hanjin
management and workers, and clarification meetings with safety
officers.
Glaring lapses
Among the more glaring lapses found by the SBMA team was the
revelation by Hanjin safety officers that not all shipyard
workers were issued personal protective equipment.
It said even those without protective equipment were allowed
to work, with the HHIC-Phil management simply advising the
workers to take extra caution.
The report added the company is still awaiting approval by
Hanjin’s parent company in Korea of its request to hire
a company physician and a dentist, and to create a safety
and health committee, which shall set occupational health
standards and implement effective safety measures in the shipyard.
The report also confirmed initial findings that the fire which
killed two workers and injured four others was due to leaking
oxygen ignited by sparks from a grinding machine.
The fire may have been exacerbated by the presence of lube
oil on the flooring of the ship compartment, the report added.
In view of the lapses, Koval said the SBMA has required Hanjin
management to fast track approval of its safety and health
committee, expedite the hiring of a company physician, hire
more safety officers on top of its 28 safety personnel, and
implement an emergency contingency plan, among others.
Last week, the SBMA also ordered Hanjin to comply with all
occupational health and safety standards as determined by
concerned government agencies, including the SBMA.
It asked the Korean shipbuilder to avail only of the services
of SBMA-accredited service contractors, and to secure the
services of a third-party auditor for safety compliance.
THE government is eyeing April as the month
when the country accedes to the Revised Kyoto Protocol (RKP),
in time for the annual meeting of director generals of the
World Customs Organization (WCO).
In an interview at the sidelines of the 2nd National Summit
on the Philippine Accession to the RKP, Customs deputy commissioner
Rey Nicolas explained almost all stakeholders are ready to
comply with the provisions of the treaty.
“Hopefully, barring any strong opposition from stakeholders,
we could get the concurrence of the Senate by April this year
or before the June 2008 meeting of the WCO,” Nicolas,
who chairs the Bureau of Customs-Kyoto Convention Management
Team, said.
In her speech during the summit, Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago
assured stakeholders, specifically the Bureau of Customs (BOC),
that the Senate could approve the RKP in as early as a week.
The treaty is still awaiting the President’s approval,
though.
Improving trade facilitation
Santiago, who chairs the Senate’s Foreign Relations
Committee, said the RKP improves trade facilitation because
it harmonizes customs practices, increases transparency and
predictability in Customs transactions, eliminates discretionary
treatment and application of rules, implements special procedures
for low-risk importers, and reduces opportunities for extortion.
Non-concurrence to the treaty, on the other hand, could lead
to further deterioration of Philippine competitiveness in
the international market and the Philippines running the risk
of becoming an anomaly in the global community since many
countries have already adopted – or are in the process
of adopting — the treaty, she said.
It also imperils BOC’s modernization because the Philippines
would not be party to the treaty which establishes business
practices in risk management, audit-based controls, pre-arrival
information, information technology, coordinated intervention;
and consultation with trade, information on customs laws,
rules, and regulations and system of appeals in customs matters,
Santiago added.
Strong lobby
The Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Federation
of Philippine Industries, Philippine Exporters Confederation,
and the Port Users Confederation, among others, are urging
the President to fast track the country’s accession
to the RKP.
They said the accession would foster efficiency, transparency
and accountability in Customs administration, while contributing
to reduced transaction costs and enhanced trade security.
They also believe the accession, and subsequent compliance
with treaty provisions, will facilitate movement of goods
and people and expedite import-export and all other related
cross-border transactions.
A total of 56 countries have acceded to the 1999 agreement.
INTERNATIONAL Container Terminal Services,
Inc (ICTSI) has an inside track on landing the 25-year management
and operations contract for the Mindanao Container Terminal
(MCT), according to a ranking official of the Phividec Industrial
Authority (PIA), the port’s present operator.
According to the source, ICTSI bested in almost all criteria
the two other bidders—Harbour Centre Port Terminals,
Inc and its Singaporean partner, and Asian Terminals, Inc.
Amer Asia and Maersk, through A.P. Moeller Terminals, failed
to submit their bids for the terminal on January 28.
“From the looks of it, ICTSI has an inside track based
on preliminary results. However, we still have a long way
to go to March 31, and things could change,” the PortCalls
source said. PIA will award the contract to the winning bidder
on March 31.
The minimum fixed concession fee for the management and operation
of the terminal is P2.145 billion. According to the bidding
terms of reference, bidders should have a minimum paid-up
capital of P2 million.
The bidding is the third attempt of PIA to privatize MCT,
but the first since PIA secured a permit for MTC to handle
international cargoes of non-locators.
Located along the Macalajar Bay in Tagoloan, Misamis Oriental,
MCT is seen as a catalyst to economic and industrial development
of Metro Cagayan De Oro and Northern Mindanao.
