Coast Guard to link up with PRC to clamp down on bogus ship officials

MANILA, Philippines –  The Philippine Coast Guard yesterday called on the Maritime Industry Authority (Marina) and the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) not to renew the licenses of ship officials with known derogatory records.

Coast Guard commandant Admiral Wilfredo Tamayo said they would make the recommendation to the Marina and the PRC in the campaign against fake maritime officials and crewmen.

Tamayo also announced plans for a joint venture with the PRC to craft a joint database that would help in detecting bogus ship officials.

He ordered the Maritime Safety Office (MSO) to coordinate with the PRC in forming a database of qualified maritime officials as part of the intensified campaign against bogus ship officials.

Tamayo said 85 percent of the maritime incidents are due to human error, mostly committed by those who tamper their qualifications to make it appear they are qualified ship officials.

“The database would be a helpful tool to evaluate the competence of the ship’s crew and will prevent unlicensed mariners to engage in sea transport operations,” Tamayo said.

He said the database would serve as the basis of the Coast Guard to check the qualification and competence of maritime officers and crewmen.

The proposed database would include ship officials with legitimate PRC licenses.

“Aside from the names of those who passed the PRC, we also would want to get the track record, length of service, and the shipping lines that employed (these recidivist offenders),” he added.  

Tamayo stressed the Coast Guard is mandated by Republic Act 9993 to implement measures to ensure maritime safety and security.

“We would recommend to the Marina and the PRC not to renew the licenses of ship officials who were involved in several maritime incidents. These maritime incidents include those that ran ground and even if there are no reported deaths,” he said.

Tamayo said the Coast Guard is not discounting the possibility that shipping lines might be employing those who have derogatory records from other maritime companies.

The PCG has yet to finalize the rules on how many offenses would make a ship officer lose his license.

He said the Board of Marine Inquiry, in their previous investigations of several sea accidents, revealed some of the ship officers were involved in other accidents while some had fake licenses.