DOTr set to establish PH as ‘Maritime Capital of the World’
THE Philippine government aims to establish the country as the “Maritime Capital of the World” by providing the global maritime industry with world-class Filipino seafarers, Transportation Secretary Jaime Bautista said Tuesday, November 22, 2022.
Bautista said the Department of Transportation (DOTr) is determined to address current challenges the maritime industry faces for the country to achieve such a reputation.
“Our goal at the Department of Transportation is to entrench the position of the Philippines as the ‘Maritime Capital of the World’ by supplying the ‘seafarers of choice’ for the global maritime industry,” Bautista said during the Crew Connect Global 2022.
Considered “Key Global Workers,” seafarers facilitate the movement of 90% of goods worldwide, where “a third of these world-movers are Filipinos,” Bautista said.
With Filipino seafarers remitting US$595 million in September 2022 alone and a year-end remittance projection of US$7.1 billion, over 600,000 Filipino seafarers worldwide directly contribute to the socio-economic development of the country, the transport chief added.
Apart from implementing reforms for the Philippine maritime industry’s compliance with world standards, the DOTr has a 10-point Maritime Industry Development Plan to claim the country’s mark in the global marine industry.
The plan includes domestic shipping modernization, expansion of shipbuilding and repair capabilities, building a marine industrial park, development of inland waterway networks, marine environment protection, and addressing the assessment findings of the European Commission and the IMO independent evaluators with a barrage of corrective actions on various levels, among others.
Bautista further said that the DOTr, through the Maritime Industry Authority (MARINA), is exerting efforts to consistently implement and monitor the corrective actions for the benefit of almost 50,000 Filipino seafarers now employed by European-flagged vessels.
“We did not fail the assessments of the European Maritime Safety Agency or EMSA and by the IMO Independent Evaluation. Their findings are seriously being addressed and corrective measures being put in place,” the DOTr chief said.
