SHIPPING industry stakeholders and Maritime Industry Authority (Marina) are rushing to finish the draft of the Omnibus Maritime Code and submit it to both chambers of Congress as time is running out as legislators would be busy for the May elections next year.

Marina Administrator Maria Elena Bautista said they want to submit
the draft bill to the House of Representatives on Monday during
President Arroyo’s State-of-the-Nation Address, or if not, it will be
submitted in August.
“But even if some think that there is no more time [for the bills to
become a law], I don’t think that will stop us. But it will be up to
the [shipping] industries and government [agencies] to support this and
pull some strings for this to move quicker than usual,” Bautista said
during a workshop on Wednesday organized by the umbrella group
Philippine Interisland Shipping Association.
Many of the stakeholders, however, have not yet given out their
positions on many issues, such as on maritime insurance issues, as
pointed out by the Philippine Insurers and Reinsurers Association. 
Some of the groups present during the workshop include tankers
companies, liners, tugs and barges, roll-on roll-off operators, fishing
vessels, class societies, among others. Bautista admitted the draft
bill is still a work in progress, but they are making sure that
legislators would have an easy time approving the bills, as they are
making sure to resolve all the conflicts at the first stage of crafting
the draft.  She said the strategy is to file an omnibus maritime law in
the Lower House, a law that will unify all other sectors of the
maritime industry but retaking the powers that were already assigned to
other government agencies.
The other strategy is to just push for the amendment of Republic Act 9295, or the Domestic Shipping Development Act of 2004.
“At least, even if they [legislators] did not pass the [Maritime] code,
at least we may have made some amendments to the existing law, which I
think is much easier for the legislators,” she said.  At the moment,
there is no bill filed at the Lower House on Maritime Code, but in the
Senate a bill has already been filed by Sen. Rodolfo Biazon, which
stakeholders say is far from what they are working on right now.
Over the years, Marina’s powers of maritime administration have been
diluted and were delegated to other agencies, such as to the Department
of Labor and Employment for the seafarers, to Department of Trade and
Industry for the sea- freight forwarders and ship agents, and to the
Philippine Coast Guard for determining the seaworthiness of the
vessels, among others.
Bautista now wants all those powers to be handed back to Marina to have
a single agency that will handle all concerns from seafarers to
shippers to ship owners, which may also include judicial and
arbitration powers.
Marina was supposed to have the draft transmitted to Congress by last
year, based on the Philippine government’s commitment to the Norwegian
government.
Marina’s operation right now is no more than handling the issuance of
seaman’s book and policymaking functions for the industry.
Norwegian Agency for International Development (Norad) in 2007 gave the
country 2.25 million Norwegian kroners, or an equivalent of $413,391,
(P18.17 million) for the crafting of the omnibus maritime law.

Source: Business Mirror

Search to find what you want

• Despite the threats from Abu Sayaf: Marina attracts intl vessels used Davao Gulf / Ports

     THE Maritime Industry Authority (Marina) said it is securing the Davao Gulf in order to entice more international vessel owners to lay up their vessels at the southern part of the country as security threats are dampening their interest to utilize Philippine waters. Marina Administrator Maria Elena  Bautista said  the

• Abu Dhabi Yas Marina welcomed the first vessel

     (sail-world)  The Royal Yacht, MY Rabdan is the first vessel to drop anchor at Yas Marina in the heart of the Yas Marina Circuit which will host the inaugural Formula 1™ Eithad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, October 30 to November 1, 2009.  Source

• ATSC and MCC Transport import 2 more ships

    AT least two more vessels, both dedicated freighters, have been introduced recently by partners MCC Transport Philippines and Aboitiz Transport System Corp. (ATSC), the country’s largest domestic vessel operator, to boost their local operations. MCC Transport Philippines has  introduced MV Sandigan, a 1,115 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) vessel. It will be

• Opportunity to invest in the most important Spanish naval development

    A joint investor is being sought for a rare marina development opportunity in southern Spain. Alcaidesa Servicios SA is looking for a third partner to join Costain Group Plc and Elerco SA, part of the Santander Group, in the project, the first major phase of which will be completed early

• Government sets out more stringent rules for seafarers

    Transport authorities have set harsher punishments for erring seafarers and will require them to render local service before allowing them to work abroad. Transportation and Communications Secretary Leandro Mendoza said these measures were meant to raise the bar of safety in the accident-prone seafaring industry

• MARINA streamlines procedures for dry-docking

    The Maritime Industry Authority (MARINA) recently rationalized its procedures on dry-docking to lure more international lines to use the country’s shipyards. Ma. Elena Butista, MARINA administrator, said the move aims to create a one-stop-shop for vessel operators utilizing the country’s shipyards for their ship repair and dry-docking needs. Bautista said

• Massachusetts city expanded Marine Center

     (soundings)  The town of Scituate, Mass., is dedicating its new maritime center Oct. 15, following five years of work to create a larger marina, boat storage facility and a park/trail area for water access.  Source

• Massachusetts town expands marine center

     (soundings)  The town of Scituate, Mass., is dedicating its new maritime center Oct. 15, following five years of work to create a larger marina, boat storage facility and a park/trail area for water access.  Source

• Davao Gulf is no longer so risky, the promotion of idle vessels in the neighborhood park

    The Davao Gulf has been removed from a list of areas with perceived enhanced risks, making it more attractive to shipping companies – both local and foreign – to park their vessels in the area. The decision was announced on September 14 by a group of London-based marine insurance companies called

• Jeopardize draft standard bunkers crews could

    Widespread industry concern has been raised that proposed changes to the draft ISO/DIS 8217 bunkering standard may have adverse safety and operational implications for ship’s crew. DNV Petroleum Services has stressed that the proposed limits for hydrogen sulphide (H2S) content… Read at Draft bunkering standard could endanger crews

• Philippines: u0026quot

    Lifting the country’s Cabotage Law, which gives local shipping operators the exclusive rights to ply Philippine waters, could spell disaster to the already distressed shipping industry of the country, the government warns. Thompson Lantion, undersecretary for maritime affairs of the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC), said the country may end up like

• Iraq wants to establish its national oil company

     The Iraqi government says the Cabinet has approved a draft law to revive a national oil company to oversee industry development. The Iraqi National Oil Co. was established in 1964 but Saddam Hussein dissolved it in 1987 as the Iraq-Iran war curtailed oil-related activities. Government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh said Tuesday in a

• To end Grell Yacht Show

     (The National) For visitors, the Abu Dhabi Yacht Show was a spectacle. A fleet of sleek and opulent vessels to make the mouth water and the imagination reel

• DNV draft of the new ISO 8217

    The first draft of the fourth revision of the international marine fuel standard, ISO 8217, is now available and is in the ‘public comment’ stage and the fourth edition would be ready for publication by July 2010. The draft, ISO/DIS8217, is subject to change and may not be referred to as

• Israel: Ministry of Finance decided to postpone ports tariff reform

    According to the latest draft on the wharfage fees’ reform sent by the Ministry of Finance to the Ministry of Transport last week it appears that Ministry of Finance has postponed by six months the reform in wharfage fees at the three Israeli ports. The wharfage fee is a border