THE Philippine government should request the European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA) for a one-year extension for 80,000 Filipino sailors to comply with the International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers (STCW), a party-list lawmaker said.
ACTS-OFW Rep. Aniceto “John” D. Bertiz III, who will file a resolution urging the government to seek the extension, warned of a “potential downside” due to the review being conducted by the EMSA on the Philippines’s compliance with the International Convention on STCW.
According to Bertiz, failure to pass the EMSA review may adversely affect the deployment of some 80,000 Filipino sailors on European merchant ships.
He said the EMSA has been questioning the capability of the Philippines’s Maritime Industry Authority (Marina) to ensure enforcement of the STCW, which sets minimum qualification standards for ship masters, officers and watch personnel.
“On the part of Congress, we can file [when session resumes next month] a resolution or call for House investigation regarding this matter and if it’s possible for us to request for extensions to EMSA through IMO [International Maritime Organization] for another year or so to comply with their requirements and standard,” Bertiz told the BusinessMirror.
According to Bertiz, Marina has no contingency plan yet in case the EMSA, as authorized by the IMO, imposed sanctions on the Philippines by October 2018 for noncompliance with the STCW Convention and Code.
“So if worst comes to worst, what will happen to 80,000 seafarers who might lost their jobs because the training they got from our country is not compliant?” he pointed out.
“This is a big challenge to the leadership of Marina, if EMSA/IMO will grant our request. One more thing: what DOLE/POEA will do about this matter, are they coordinating also with Marina? As you know, it is POEA who’s responsible for the processing of…necessary documents of our seafarers; why did they not anticipate it?” the lawmaker added.
Bertiz, however, said he expects Marina Administrator Rey Leonardo Guerrero, a retired Armed Forces chief of staff, to manage the risks associated with EMSA’s audit and to build up compliance.
“Actually that issue was way long ago already, but MARINA took a blind eye on the issues, and it’s really very alarming if we will be blacklisted by EMSA,” he said.
PHL sailors everywhere
The biggest employers of Filipino sailors are international shipping operators based in the United States, Germany, Singapore, Japan, the United Kingdom, Hong Kong, Greece, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Panama, Norway, Cyprus, Switzerland, South Korea and Liberia.
Filipino sailors serve on bulk carriers, container ships, oil, gas, chemical and other product tankers, general cargo ships, pure car carriers and tugboats around the world.
A growing number of Filipinos also provide housekeeping, guest relations, culinary, front office and other maintenance services on cruise ships and floating casinos.
Probe on compliance
Bertiz said he will ask the House of Representatives to look into the compliance of courses being offered to Filipino seafarers with STCW and EMSA requirements.
“A good friend told me that the Philippines imposes many mandatory training and certification for seafarers, but it is not known whether these courses are compliant with STCW and EMSA requirements,” he said.
“[Some of the] additional courses offered by maritime schools and trainings to seafarers are money-making schemes, as these are not needed or are not compliant with international seafaring certification standards,” Bertiz added.
The lawmaker said Filipino sailors would no longer have to grapple with the anxiety caused by EMSA audits if only training and review centers would ensure that its courses adhere to the STCW.
Bertiz also noted that the Philippines has agreed to comply with the provisions and requirements when it signed the STCW International Convention.
He said schools that impose additional courses and trainings other than those required by the international convention could be subjected to penalties as provided for by Article 31 the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties.