Marcos to Marina: Update ‘obsolete’ maritime rules

President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. has directed the Maritime Industry Authority (Marina) to update what he described as “obsolete” rules governing the country’s maritime industry to make it at par with global standards.

The President said Marina should set up standard government policies on the operations and practices, including reviving shipbuilding activities and upgrading education and training for Filipino seafarers.

“These [plans] are all promotion, modernization but let us standardize first our systems and at the same time we undertake this like promotion of highly-skilled Filipino maritime workforce,” Marcos told Marina officials at a briefing in Malacañang on Wednesday.

READ: Bongbong Marcos orders Marina to standardize maritime system – Palace

The President gave the directive in reaction to the proposed Maritime Industry Development Plan 2028 (MIDP 2028) that was presented by Marina administrator Sonia Malaluan.

In a separate statement, Marcos said the government was finalizing the MIDP 2028 to “make sure it prioritizes the well-being of Filipino seafarers.”

“Upon its immediate completion, we will guarantee effective project implementation and the international recognition for our seafarers’ qualifications,” he said.

Threat of EU ban

In his second State of the Nation Address delivered last year, Marcos vowed to provide foreign merchant marine vessels with a steady supply of “competent” Filipino seafarers.

In 2022, the deployment of Filipino seafarers faced a potential ban from working on European vessels, after a 2020 European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA) audit found the Philippines still noncompliant with the International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers (ISTCW).

The ISTCW sets the “minimum standards relating to training, certification and watchkeeping for seafarers which countries are obliged to meet or exceed.”

At the Palace briefing on the MIDP 2028, the President said the first step in implementing reforms in the maritime industry is to standardize operations

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