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The Marine Board of Inquiry probing into the tragedy of the Sulpicio
Lines-owned MV Princess of the Stars is not over and must still
learn many things from witnesses but one fact has clearly emerged:
Government inspection of vessels is lax, haphazard and done only
once a year.
The government body officially tasked with
making sure that Philippine ships are seaworthy, well-equipped
according to its type, tonnage, age and use is the Marine Industry
Authority (Marina).
Marina inspects vessels only once a year—at
the time when a ship is in dry dock. When the ship passes this
inspection and pronounced to be seaworthy and fully equipped with
regulation facilities, it can be put to sea again.
It seems that as long as it looks good, in the
eye of the surveyor and examiner, it doesn’t matter if the ship is
too old.
Coast Guard may inspect
The Philippine Coast Guard, in its own
description of its functions, states that it has the work of doing
MARSAF or Maritime Safety Administration. In its MARSAF task, the
“function of the PCG is to ensure the seaworthiness of the vessels
plying the waters through the conduct of Port State Control
inspection of foreign vessel, among others.” Of course, “among
others” include Philippine flag-bearing ships.
The PCG further states that under the MARSAF
duty, “It also enforces the vessel safety regulatory standards on
domestic vessels through the conduct of Flag State control
inspections, Emergency Readiness Evaluations, Mandatory
Pre-Departure Inspections, SOLAS Equipment Inspections and the
accreditation of suppliers and manufacturers of SOLAS appliances.”
And “It also ensures navigational safety
through the development, establishment, maintenance and operation of
Aids to Navigation.”
But everybody in the know, including ship
captains who will not, however, speak for the record, will privately
admit that the Coast Guard officers’ inspection of their ships is
purely ceremonial. They do not look into the state of a ship’s
equipment and safety facilities, or count the passengers to
determine if there are enough lifeboats and life vests and, if every
piece of cargo loaded is properly stowed and lashed to where it
should be.
The PCG officers, a captain told The Times,
assume ship masters to be officers and gentlemen who will do as the
rules require.
An ABS-CBN and Newsbreak news item, however,
reported on June 27 that “a Coast Guard official, who refused to
be named for he is not authorized to speak on procedures, said the
PCG inspection before a ship leaves port is limited to checking the
passenger manifest and the Master’s Oath Safety of Departure.”
Echo of ‘Princess of the Orient’
Some of what the Marine Board of Inquiry has
learned or will learn about the MV Princess of the Stars’
condition will echo the findings about the MV Princess of the
Orient, which in 1998 sank in stormy seas near Cavite and Batangas.
In this disaster, 200 died.
Coast Guard officials have stated that their
agency cannot really do its many functions as thoroughly as they
should. In the first place, the PCG does not have enough personnel.
In the second place, it does not have enough equipment and vessels.
PNP Maritime Group
There is still another uniformed service
involved in maritime affairs. This service is the Philippine
National Police’s Maritime Group.
This agency’s vision is “To achieve and
maintain peaceful and secured maritime environment in partnership
with the community attuned to national development priorities.”
Its mission is “To enforce the law, maintain
peace and order, and ensure public safety over Philippine
Territorial Waters, lakes, and rivers, along coastal areas to
include ports and harbors, and small islands for the security and
sustainable development of the Maritime environment.”
Among its many functions is “To uphold the
rule of law affecting the maritime environment,” which should
include seeing to it that commercial ships obey regulations.
The international GMDSS
Besides lacking sophisticated ships of its own,
the Coast Guard does not have the latest “Global Maritime Distress
and Safety System” or GMDSS.
As described by Marine Buzz, in 1979, the
International Maritime Organization (IMO) saw the need for an
updated maritime communication system. It then collaborated with
other institutions to create the Inmarsat system employing
geostationary satellites positioned above the Atlantic, Indian, and
Pacific Oceans. Shortly thereafter, a polar orbiting satellite
system was established to locate Emergency Position-Indicating Radio
Beacons (EPIRBs).
Then the IMO upgraded the whole system into what
is now known as the GMDSS, which provide a rapid and automated
distress reporting and improved telecommunications for the maritime
community.
The IMO amended its SOLAS (Safety of Life at
Sea) convention in 1998 to employ this upgrade of the maritime
safety communications procedures and equipment for the GMDSS.
Our Coast Guard does not have the complete set
of basic equipment for GMDSS.
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