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Philippine seamen group accuses some shipping firms of overloading vessels
来源： 编辑：编辑部 发布：2018/11/21 10:04:05
THE United Filipino Seafarers (UFS), an organisation of 57,000-strong seamen and ship officers, has expressed concern over the practice of shipping firms overloading their vessels with passengers and cargoes posing safety risks during their sea travel.
The seamen group revealed that some shipping companies, especially in Cebu, downgrade the gross tonnage of their ships when securing their certificates of convenience.
UFS president Nelson Ramirez said in Filipino: "We know that a 495.9-gross registered tonnage ship can't carry 2,500 tonnes of cargoes. The government is losing billions of pesos over the corruption in terms of ship registry.
"The gross tonnage is lowered from its original tonnage to elude tonnage tax, wharfage charge or usage fee to port authorities. Imagine the (revenue) losses. Many shipping companies do that in Visayas and Mindanao."
Mr Ramirez, who is a seafarer himself, sees a "connivance" between Marina Industry Authority officials and shipping companies regarding the ship registry.
He questioned the MARINA for not being strict about the re-admeasurement of all Philippine-registered ships plying the domestic route despite a circular it issued, reports Manila Bulletin.
MARINA Memorandum Circular No. 2007-04, signed by then Marina administrator Vicente Suazo Jr, provides the rules and regulations on the admeasurement/re-admeasurement of domestic vessels.
The circular mandates all ship owners, managers, and charterers, naval architects and marine engineers for the admeasurement/re-admeasurement of their vessels in accordance to the applicable provisions of the 1969 International Tonnage Convention.
"I can't understand why MARINA haven't noticed these kind of ships," Mr Ramirez said.
The UFS leader believes that the agency should know the size and the tonnage of a ship before a certificate of convenience is issued to the vessel.
"In fact when the vessel is imported from Japan it has all the records of ship's particulars that shows the gross tonnage, net tonnage, breadth, length and all others," Mr Ramirez said.
Aside from revenue losses, he also said cadets sailing in domestic routes encounter problems in taking the theoretical and practical examinations because the vessels they have boarded are less than 500 gross tonnes based on their sea service certificates.
He reiterated the need to modernise the domestic shipping to avert the losses incurred by the government in ship registry and for cadets to secure their licences without faking their sea service certificates.
The seamen group revealed that some shipping companies, especially in Cebu, downgrade the gross tonnage of their ships when securing their certificates of convenience.
UFS president Nelson Ramirez said in Filipino: "We know that a 495.9-gross registered tonnage ship can't carry 2,500 tonnes of cargoes. The government is losing billions of pesos over the corruption in terms of ship registry.
"The gross tonnage is lowered from its original tonnage to elude tonnage tax, wharfage charge or usage fee to port authorities. Imagine the (revenue) losses. Many shipping companies do that in Visayas and Mindanao."
Mr Ramirez, who is a seafarer himself, sees a "connivance" between Marina Industry Authority officials and shipping companies regarding the ship registry.
He questioned the MARINA for not being strict about the re-admeasurement of all Philippine-registered ships plying the domestic route despite a circular it issued, reports Manila Bulletin.
MARINA Memorandum Circular No. 2007-04, signed by then Marina administrator Vicente Suazo Jr, provides the rules and regulations on the admeasurement/re-admeasurement of domestic vessels.
The circular mandates all ship owners, managers, and charterers, naval architects and marine engineers for the admeasurement/re-admeasurement of their vessels in accordance to the applicable provisions of the 1969 International Tonnage Convention.
"I can't understand why MARINA haven't noticed these kind of ships," Mr Ramirez said.
The UFS leader believes that the agency should know the size and the tonnage of a ship before a certificate of convenience is issued to the vessel.
"In fact when the vessel is imported from Japan it has all the records of ship's particulars that shows the gross tonnage, net tonnage, breadth, length and all others," Mr Ramirez said.
Aside from revenue losses, he also said cadets sailing in domestic routes encounter problems in taking the theoretical and practical examinations because the vessels they have boarded are less than 500 gross tonnes based on their sea service certificates.
He reiterated the need to modernise the domestic shipping to avert the losses incurred by the government in ship registry and for cadets to secure their licences without faking their sea service certificates.