No more fleet suspension — Marina

CEBU, Philippines - Recognizing the plight of shipowners and the riding public, the Maritime Industry Authority under the leadership of its new administrator will no longer issue a suspension of the shipping’s entire fleet in case one of its vessels gets involved in a maritime accident.

But Maximo Q. Mejia, Jr., newly installed MARINA administrator, in his first official visit to Cebu last Friday said that this practice will be implemented if the shipping company is a “repeat offender”.

Mejia said that there is no such thing as “suspension of fleet policy,” and this was just an act of previous MARINA administrations.

“Probably this kind of policy was implemented in the past, maybe to serve as a wakeup call for the shipowners,” he said.

Mejia however said that it is too sweeping to suspend the entire fleet of vessels if only one vessel is involved in a maritime accident.

“This is also to take into consideration the inconvenience of the riding public as well as to give the shipowners due process,” Mejia said.

It has been a practice in the past that if one vessel of a shipping company encounter a maritime accident, other vessels will be included in the suspension.

Mejia explained that 90 percent of trading relies on ships, and many passengers rely on sea transport.

“So, marami talaga ang ma-inconvenience if MARINA suspends the entire fleet. Hindi mo naman maikarga yung mga container vans sa buses or sa eroplano. So kung e-suspend man yung entire fleet, it has to be exercised by MARINA judiciously,” he added.

Mejia further said that shipowners who complied with the maritime safety regulations seriously have nothing to fear.

“If they are responsible shipowners, they have nothing to fear. If shipowners cannot ensure the safety of the public, then they should not be in this business,” he added.  (FREEMAN)