February-March 2008 issue

Empowering Maritime EntrepreneursVol. 1 No. 5Php30.00

…continued on page 5

2 8JBLFMU Celebrates LGC opens CY/CFS

6SEt Fair by Paul Starling

PGMa inauguratesKLMa PhilippinesBy JuN G. Garcia

Knowledge center in asia opens

K-Line has indeed followed its dreams and passion in building a global shipping business when it formally opens K-Line Maritime Academy (Philippines) inaugurated by no less

than Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo with Mr. Hiroyuki Maekawa, President of Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha (K-Line), and Mr. M. Katsura, Japanese Ambassador to the Philippines.Unveiling the K-Line Marker after the

ceremonial ribbon cutting rites, President Arroyo signifies the formal opening of the academy that is geared towards becom-ing the “Knowledge Center in Asia” in the maritime sector.Strategically situated along Seaside Road,

Central Business Park I, Pasay City, Philip-pines, KLMA (Philippines) is the new ad-dition to the now five addresses of K-Line academies located in Japan, India, East Europe, and North Europe.The opening of the KLMA Philippines on

February 22, 2008 proves that K-Line now is one of the largest shipping companies in the world as it continues to meet the chal-lenges and market demands complement-ed by the company’s high spirit in realiz-ing its goals and vision. K-Line runs all KLMA institutions with

basic policies designed to nurture K-Line seafarers who ensure safe ship operations – to protect human lives, cargoes, and the natural environment at sea. By enrolling in the training and educa-

tion courses in accordance with the devel-

opment programs drawn up by KLMA, all K-Line employees can acquire the knowl-edge and skills required to achieve higher positions.

KLMA Philippines targets 10,000 train-ees on an annual basis. The K-Line presi-dent sees the importance of securing and bringing up maritime human resources for the support and growth of the whole K-Line Group. Having full understanding of this need, Mr. Maekawa has strongly committed himself to this goal without re-gard to any traditional framework and/or concept.

With this new development, Mr. Maeka-wa reveals that the K-Line Group has truly embarked on a new voyage towards the 2010s. They are now realizing the “K-Line vision 2008+”, which he has mentioned during his accession to the presidency on April 1, 2005.

He envisions many contract projects as a universal theme necessary for the fur-ther strengthening of the K-Line Group in the future and he is “determined to keep achieving tangible results” by motivating

each division and individuals to steadily and timely do their respective jobs without complacency.

For the record, he has succeeded in en-suring a stable profitability structure through reinforcing their business base, creating a high level, refined, and more matured culture of the K-Line Group with materialization of dreams and upgrading of the K-Line Brand, and in reinforcing corporate governance and response to risk management – as mentioned by his prede-cessor Mr. Sakinaga, the current chairman of the K-Line Group.

an image of Quality, Development, and SystemKLMA (Philippines) president Ms. Vir-

ginia D. Lineses claims that all KLMA in-stitutions are an image of quality, develop-ment, and system.

“It is a system because it has self-im-provement mechanism that evolves, that is flexible, and adaptable. It evolves in a sense that we take a look at what is needed

President Gloria Macapagal arroyo and Mr. Hiroyuki Maekawa lead the ribbon-cutting ceremonies with (from left) Hon. Leandro Mendoza, Transportation and communication Secretary, Hon. arturo Brion, Labor Secretary, Hon. M. Katsura, Japanese ambassador to the Philippines (second from right) and Senator Miguel Zubiri (extreme right).

President Gloria Macapagal arroyo commends Mr. Hiroyuki Maekawa after unveiling the K-Line marker.

in the industry, what are the changes and the trend in technology. In fact, we are the only one (training academy) with a main engine,” she says. Back in 1993, K-Line founded the K-Line

Maritime Training Corporation (KMTC) in the Philippines, which purpose is to

thom

e

TSM GROUP of Companies1747–1751 Dian St., Makati City

Tel. (+632) 860-7500www.tsmphil.com.ph

13

MaTe cHecK2 February–March 2008

In a crisis reflecting shipping’s boom and bust cycle, sustained growth in the world economy has seen demand for officers

outstrip supply as the industry pays the price for cutbacks in cadet training schemes during previous lean years.

india manning forum bids to solve officer shortage crisis

By PauL eLLiS

More recently the shortage has been compounded by competitive rates of pay for shore-based jobs in developing nations – and greater opportunities for seafarers to switch companies and careers or retire early.Against this background, the 3rd Man-

ning & Training in India conference takes place in Mumbai on March 17-18 with in-ternational insight on how to fill the quan-tity gap without compromising quality and safety. Speakers include senior representatives

from regulatory and training authorities as well as ship owners, operators and man-agers such as Anglo Eastern, Barber, Eur-asia, Great Eastern, Mitsui, V.Ships and Wilhelmsen.Conference chairman Capt. Martin Bur-

ley, group training director at V.Ships, points out: “We now have more than 1000 cadets going through our training pro-grammes in India, the Philippines, for-mer Soviet Union countries and Eastern Europe. Applications in India overwhelm places by 3 to 1 but we could still do with more training berths being made avail-able.“The underlying problem is that the in-

dustry didn’t think ahead about being a cyclical business, so there was some over reaction to the low of the 1980s in reduc-ing places. “Now new factors have come into play.

Senior officers have a shorter life at sea than previously. It’s not uncommon for Indian masters and chief engineers in their thirties to have a couple of trips un-der their belt and then have ambitions to do something different.“Those who remain at sea are earning

more and can retire relatively young – and in the meantime, the supply and demand factor has created a situation where they can jump from company to company in re-sponse to the call of the almighty dollar.” Competitive forces in the labour market

will also be explored by keynote speaker Sabyasachi Hajara, chairman and manag-ing director of the Shipping Corporation of India and president of the Indian Na-tional Shipowners’ Association. “The availability of human resources is

critical to the growth rate of the maritime

sector,” he asserts. “We are investing mil-lions of dollars in ships, so it is only right that they should be in the hands of skilled seafarers with the right attitude. “We used to be able to recruit to the in-

dustry because of the gap between wages at sea and ashore but this has closed because of industrial development. Added to that, the fun has gone – ships are in port only a few hours instead of a few days, so it’s more and more difficult to attract youth to a career at sea.“We need to improve the image of the

shipping industry, promote its service to the economy as the least polluting mode of transport and campaign against the crimi-nalisation of seafarers.”The impact of officer shortages on the

potential for maritime incidents is to be examined by John Bainbridge, assistant secretary seafarers of the International Transport Workers’ Federation, who will analyse the link between manning, train-ing and fatigue.“Our position is that it’s the level of com-

petency on board that is important, not just the numbers,” he explains. “All the major insurers have made statements that accidents are increasing and fatigue is a big issue. “In March we are submitting a paper to

the IMO’s review of the principles of safe manning under Resolution A890. We would like to see a mandatory process to determine manning levels along the lines of the ISM Code on how to manage ships. “While we accept that every ship and ev-

ery run can be different, operators need a process to show that they have done the computation properly. Right now it’s not transparent so we can’t verify it. Ships are all about just-in-time and they’re getting bigger and bigger while crews are getting smaller and smaller.” Emphasising the need for quality, Mr

Bainbridge adds: “The big risk is that ways will be found to put people on board with-out full qualifications. Apart from dispen-sations, there is the increasing threat of fraudulent certificates. All this puts stress on properly qualified and experienced sea-farers and leads to stories we all hear about of captains who never sleep. “The introduction of flags of convenience

produced a situation where the compa-nies who would otherwise have invested in maritime training schools didn’t do it. Now many of them have left it too late to come to the party. A lot of management companies are trying to make good but we’re talking hundreds here and there when in reality we need thousands.” Ian Sherwood, managing director of the

UK’s Delta Marine Personnel Services and

chairman of the International Maritime Employers’ Committee, insists that throw-ing money at the problem is not the long-term solution.He will be presenting an update on wage

negotiations under the International Bar-gaining Forum and concedes: “The officer wage scales implemented in January this year do not necessarily buy the quality of officers needed. Even though the terms were very generous, they still lag behind the top calibre of personnel. “Ultimately market forces will do their

job in determining what is right. I’ve been through boom and bust several times. The current shortage is probably the most seri-ous I have seen but in time I believe it will take care of itself. “We can’t continue with the unprec-

edented new building programme and we have already seen signs of a recession in the economy, with freight rates plum-meting from what they were only a few months ago.“When these things begin to bite they

will have a knock-on effect in easing, if not solving, the shortage. Older ships will be scrapped, new built orders will come down and inevitably, if things get really serious, ships will go to lay-up.”Meanwhile, as more than 20 speakers

will demonstrate, the industry is renewing its pro-active efforts to meet current levels of demand. Sessions topics range from a case study of Mitsui’s training ship initia-tive to fast-track certification solutions and the need for a dynamic shift from recruit-ment to human resources management to implement succession planning and alter-native practices. Other highlights include a keynote ad-

dress by Ashok Mahapatra, head of train-ing in the IMO’s maritime safety division, on the current review of the STCW Con-vention covering standards of training, certification and watchkeeping for seafar-ers.The Convention was last fully reviewed

in 1995. The new review started in Janu-ary last year and is due for completion in 2010. “A lot of changes have taken place in the

last 13 years - from technological advances to the increase in ship types such as gas carriers – so we need to look at new and innovative methods to impart training,”

says Mr Mahapatra. “We also need to address issues such as

maritime security and harmonisation be-tween the STCW Convention and the new mandatory labour convention on hours of work and rest.“There has been support for the review

from all sectors of the industry - admin-istrations, owners and seafarers – and the aim in future is to carry out a review ev-ery 10 -15 years because you can never say anything is set in stone.”India’s vital contribution to manning will

be illustrated by Capt. Suresh Bhardwaj, vice chancellor of Chennai’s Academy of Maritime Education & Training. Found-ed 15 years ago, the academy was officially inaugurated as the nation’s first maritime university on February 7 at a ceremony attended by IMO secretary-general Efthi-mios Mitropoulos. “We have about 1500 students on the

campus, including 500 with Maersk Line and many others who get sponsorships in their second or third year from companies like Shell, Mitsui and K-Line,” says Capt. Bhardwaj. “Demand for places is very high and we are doing our best to reach out to make a career at sea interesting.“India offers quite a few strengths. Edu-

cation is of a very high standard, the Eng-lish language is extremely strong and we have major government support via the director general of shipping. Last but not least, Indians are very ambitious by nature and want to work hard.”Organised by Lloyd’s List Events, the

two-day conference at InterContinental’s Grand Hotel will be followed on March 19 by a workshop on Leadership, Trust & Communication, which focuses on the hu-man element in building a safety culture. The workshop leader is Prof. Mike Barnett, associate director of the UK’s Warsash Maritime Academy.Delegate fees are £999 for the conference

and £499 for the workshop, with reduced rates of £450 and £199 respectively for In-dian residents.Full details and a registration facility

are available at www.manningandtrain-ing.com. The event opens a manning and training season that also includes the 11th European conference, in Poland in May, and the 9th Asia-Pacific conference in the Philippines in November.

Paul Ellis is a Direct Public relations from the uK. For further inquiries, you can get in touch with him at

telephone numberTel: +44 (0)1923 260960

or thru email:paulellis.dpr@btopenworld.com.

Want to advertise?Call +632 484 8685

3MaTe cHecK February–March 2008

For press releases and coverage, call0919 881 7989

MaTe cHecK� February–March 2008

Maritime Industry Authority deputy administrator Primo Rivera said that such move would sweeten the deal be-tween them and shipping companies, which will also be forced by the agency to accept more cadets for both deck and engine.Marina is reviewing its Memorandum

Circular No 3. on “Apprenticeship train-ing of graduates of Philippine Nautical Schools and Marine Engineering Institu-tions” as a response on the shortage of do-mestic maritime crew.“But that move will not solve the problem

(of crew shortage) until such time that do-mestic shipping vessels can compete with foreign vessels,” Rivera said.He said the domestic vessels are having a

hard time getting officers, such as captains and engineers, since most are working for foreign vessels that pay much higher fee in foreign currency.As a result, the industry will have to wait

for the Filipino officers to retire before they can snatch them to either man the vessels or train the other crews.On the other hand, for those non-officer

positions, they are only serving domestic vessels just to gain experience.

At the moment, Marina does not have a ruling on how many months should a sea-farer should spend on a domestic vessels before it can fly abroad for the ocean-going vessels.

Foreign carriers, however, require many of its seafarers to have a local experience before they can be accepted on board, with the exception of those graduates of top schools like the Mari-time Academy of Asia and the Pacific and the Philippine Merchant Marine Academy.

“Marina MC (memorandum circular) amending MC 3 on the guidelines for ca-det’s on-board domestic ships has been drafted and will be subjected to a dis-cussion in the Marina Technical Work-ing Group and consultation with the domestic shipowners. This is expected to be finalized for Board consideration,” Marina administrator Vicente T. Suazo Jr. earlier said.

He said, however, that there are a lot of measures that the industry and other gov-ernment agencies need to carry out, such as integration and unification of its activi-ties, before it can respond to the manpow-er shortage.

“Until such time that this (unification) will be possible, Marina has initiated sev-eral programs that will move towards ad-dressing the various concerns raised by the private sector,” Suazo said.Marina, which has long been silent on

what it can do to augment the current shortage of maritime officers, has only re-cently announced its intended measures on how to contribute to the industry’s ini-tiatives.

These include streamlined procedures on the issuance of Seafarers Identifica-tion and Record Book, participation in the Commission on Higher Education’s tech-nical panel for maritime education for the possible review of the curriculum, and in-volvement in the comprehensive review of the Standards of Training, Certification, and Watchkeeping Regulation as imple-mented by the International Maritime Or-ganization.

IMEC’s recently-appointed training manager, Cedric D’Souza, in an inter-view said that they are targeting about 500 secondary schools all over the coun-try. However, IMEC will only take 50 students that they will house at the Uni-versity of Cebu starting this June and in the next three years.The courses are either on nautical or ma-

rine engineering. They will teach the stu-dents for three years, or four years for the engineering course, in the university and then take their shipboard training at one of IMEC’s members for the last year of their course.“We expect to have 10,000 to 15,000

students for the pre-screening sessions. From that number we will shortlist some 3,500, but we will take only 50 scholars. The Norwegian group will get 200 since they have a separate program with the university,” D’Souza said.

In 2009, he said they plan to expand their scholars to 250 more and place them at the

Maritime Academy of Asia and the Pacific (MAAP) in Bataan.

IMEC will spend for the board and lodging, books, uniforms, and tuition fees of the students. D’Souza said that they are allotting about Php120,000 per student annually.This means they would spend about

Php18 million for the next three to four years for these students and the money that they will spend will further grow as they expand the program.This is the first time that IMEC has ini-

tiated its own pooled training efforts and veered away from lobbying to Philippine government to improve the country’s mar-itime education system.IMEC’s other training initiatives in-

clude English language training in East-ern Europe, rating to officer conversion courses in several countries including the Philippines and Russia, the IMEC training course in the Philippines, and sending IMEC delegations to countries

that might be potential new labor sourc-es.“IMEC’s Philippine training program

has so far is the most extensive”, noted D’Souza.Some members of IMEC have also been

maintaining scholars at the MAAP cam-pus, but the school has limited slots since Japanese principals have taken most of available scholars.The school, owned by Associated Marine

Officers’ and Seamen’s Union of the Philip-

pines with IMEC sits at one of its board, is spending some Php400 million to expand its facilities and take in more students.IMEC has joined in the fray of recruit-

ing and training more people fit to become maritime officers in the next few years in hopes of augmenting the current shortage of officers for ocean-going vessels.IMEC’s officials believe that the estimated

10,000 to 15,000 officers’ shortage between now and 2015 could be more since many brand-new vessels has been built.

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London-based International Maritime Employers Committee (IMEC) and some Norwegian companies will scour hundreds

of secondary schools in the country in the next few months to get the best and brightest students and entice them to try-out for a scholarship grant and take the seafarers’ course.

iMec in search for 50 scholars

Government may force all graduates of Philippine nautical schools to undergo a two–year domestic job, contractual or

otherwise, before applying for the same position on ocean-going vessels.

Nautical graduates must serve for domestic fleet – Marina

cedric D’Souza (in black suit) answering a query from a reporter. Looking on are Mr. David Dearsley and Mr. Jaypee Padilla of Harborscope.

JBLFMU celebrates anniversary. cadets of iloilo-based John B. Lacson Foundation Maritime university (JBLFMu) showcase their dancing prowess during their university’s anniversary.

5MaTe cHecK February–March 2008

provide training to the growing numbers of Filipino crew onboard K-Line vessels.It started very small. From two instruc-

tors, it grew to 18 with two psychologists and five office staff; and from two upgrad-ing courses it now offers 35 various tech-nical and social courses necessary for the continuous upgrading of skills of their officers and crew. Under KLMA, these courses will increase from 35 to 65.Its expanding f leet that requires big

number of competent and high quality seafarers led to the building of a new, modern, and state of the art facility that banners the K-Line Spirit which are Safe-ty in Navigation and Cargo Handling for all K-Line f leet, and the enhancing and upgrading the competence of the Fili-pino seafarers.With the guidance of Mr. Maekawa, K-

Line was able to distinguish KMTC from KLMA. Hence, the new name “K Line Maritime Academy Philippines” – the thrust of K-Line Group in Asia. This is yet another contribution of K-Line to the industry. KLMA Philippines is developed not only

to train and educate Filipino seafarers with advanced simulators, but also to train en-gineers and build up their skills, irregard-less of their nationalities.The KLMA in India, which opened in

April 2007, is designed with an upgraded facility to train and educate Indian seafar-ers. An AUS simulator, which was devel-oped jointly by K-Line and its manufac-turer, has been introduced.The KLMA in Japan will have facilities

to cultivate senior officers for dangerous

cargo carriers, apart from nurturing Japa-nese seafarers with proper training and education.KLMA East Europe will develop a train-

ing and education system in accordance with its unique programs in partnership with the Bulgaria Maritime Training Cen-ter (BMTC) for Bulgarian seafarers. Junior officers will have the opportunity to up-grade their skills with SHS, damage pre-vention, and ISPS curriculum.KLMA North Europe will develop prac-

tical courses via an independent training and education facility, which is expected to offer original programs within its unique training and education system for Euro-pean seafarers.All these projections are designed by

Mr. Maekawa for further developing of business and for fostering human re-sources on a global basis. “I fully expect that they will continue to grow and con-stitute a core part of our future overall human resources throughout the K-Line Group.

realizing the K-Line Vision 2008Foreseeing the mid-2010s, Mr. Maekawa

continues to step up to further improve business achievements under a renewed intermediate management plan “K-Line Vision 2008+.” In his annual report last year, fiscal year

2006 has fared very well for the K-Line Group in terms of operating revenues in every business sector – thanks to the in-creased in cargo volume.

K-Line has been expanding its business scale as planned. Forty-seven new build-ings were completed and joined the K-Line fleet during fiscal year 2006 with a total fleet size reaching 453 vessels as of March 31, 2007.By the end of 2008, K-Line expects 500

ships in operations—90 containerships, 90 car carriers, 185 bulk carriers, 48 LNG tankers, 31 oil tankers, and 56 other types of vessel.These are expected to increase up to 700

ships by mid-2010s with 120 container-ships, 110 car carriers, 250 bulk carriers, 90 LNG tankers, 60 oil tankers, and 70 other types of vessel.The K-Line stalwart accounts the fol-

lowing for their success-ful endeavors: planning for and implementation of safety in ship naviga-tion/cargo operations and fostering marine technical personnel, re-entry into heavy lift shipping busi-ness, and restructuring of group logistics compa-nies.

“We are committed to establishing a high quality ship management structure to up-hold safe navigation of our expanding fleet and to secure and foster marine techni-cal personnel on a global basis,” says Mr. Maekawa.True enough for a leader that religiously

follows their corporate principles in the light of maintaining strong presence in the shipping business. He truly leads the team in observing “diligent efforts for safety navigation and cargo operations as well as for environmental preservation, sincere response to customer needs by making every possible effort, and contributing to the world’s economic growth and stability through continual upgrading of service quality.

PGMa inaugurates KLMa Phils.… from front page

K-Line Vision• To be trusted and supported by customers in all corners of the

world while being able to continue to grow globally with sustainability,• To build a business base that will be capable of responding to

any and all changes in business circumstances, and to continually pursue and practice innovation for survival in the global market,

• To create and provide a workplace where each and every employee can have hopes and aspirations for the future, and can

express creativity and display a challenging spirit.

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MaTe cHecK� February–March 2008

Despite that, let’s give it a go.Looking out across the South China Sea

things appear to be booming. And they are. Our giant neighbour has cleverly stored

up vast reserves over the past decade. In-dustry and the economy is booming and this is showing up in China’s marine sec-tor. By 2010 - just two years away - it will be worth almost 500 billion US dollars (3.16 trillion Yuan) to the Chinese economy.Add to that the facts that China is rapidly

expanding its development of natural gas supplies, and crude oil output is likely to top the 50 million tonnes mark, and you can see how well set up China is.But that’s just a start. China has barely

started to tap into its vast reserves at sea. It has exploited just 17% (so far) of its crude oil and not even 12% of its sea reserves of natural gas.China is pouring investment in to port

transportation systems. By 2010 its ship-building capacity will reach 21 million tons.We are, in other words, sitting alongside

one of the emerging world powers in ship-ping and the maritime sector. It may be sunny the other side of the Lu-

zon and South China seas – with the posi-tive knock-on effects for us in the Philip-pines – but the storm clouds are gathering in other parts of the world.recession Recession is now being openly talked

about in the US. For those of you who haven’t followed the detail closely I’ll give you a quick (and, hopefully, simple) over-view. Several economic factors have collided.

American Financial institutions have loaned vast amounts of money to peo-ple who couldn’t afford to buy their own homes, or pay back the loan costs. The re-sult has been a collapse in confidence in the US housing market and a heck of a lot of bad debt. This has badly knocked the construction and finance sector. At the same time the price of crude oil

and its refined products are near to all-time highs. China is a player in this. It’s booming and ever-expanding economy has led to record demands for oil, push-ing world prices up further. Oil giant BP is now on record as saying that it expects the oil price to remain at USD60 – USD90 “for the next few years.”The third reason why the US may be flirt-

ing with recession is the serious deteriora-tion of the value of the dollar – which, in turn, will make US investments weaker and less attractive.I used the term ‘collision.’ The US may ride

through these short term storms without too much long term damage. But not before its economy tips over in to recession.The clouds are gathering over much of

Europe, too. Though there are good and positive signs, just over the horizon.The UK is bracing itself for a downturn

but not recession. Its problems have been caused by a combination of record high consumer borrowing (and debt); again, falling house prices (caused by the US housing problems); and record deficits in the Government’s public finance figures.Despite these things there is real hope

for optimism. The signs are there of a very vibrant maritime industry – if you look carefully enough.We now have 50,000 ships worldwide.

There are a further 10,000 vessels on order. Shipbuilding, then, is booming and most ship owners (taking a five year view) are confident.Take Norway. Order books at Norwegian

yards are at a record high, the earliest new ships can be delivered is 2011.Reluctantly they are having to sit and

watch as owners turn away from Europe and take their business to shipyards in Brazil, India - and, of course, China.This is part of a general re-alignment – a

shift – in the balance of economic and ship-ping power from other parts of the mari-time world to the Far and Middle East. And so to that forecast.The effect of the economic slowdown is

Forecasting such things is about as safe as trying to predict the weather and nobody knows better than our sector – how

difficult that can be.

Set FairBy PauL STarLiNG

What is 2008 likely to hold for the shipping industry?

We now have 50,000 ships

worldwide. There are a further

10,000 vessels on order. Shipbuilding, then, is booming and most ship

owners (taking a five year view) are

confident.

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for your advertising needs,call 484 8685

Want to advertise?Call +632 484 8685

South Harbor operator Asian Terminals, Inc. (ATI) is gearing

the port towards better business this year as it started to equip the port with better cargo-handling facility.The new facilities are not only part of

their commitment with the Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) but a project to have the port more responsive to com-merce.ATI chair Bryan Smith, in a recent in-

terview, said they expect this year to be better than last year and could duplicate if not surpass its banner year in 2006.“ATI is growing and is moving very well

as the economy grows,” Smith said.“ATI sees a better year for its business

this 2008 as it maintains its optimism to the Philippine economy,” he added.Among the projects to modernize the

port include investments on additional cargo handling muscle to make its cargo handling more efficient as they expect an upturn in trade volume.Smith said ATI would continue to un-

dertake improvements which are its constant goal to achieve higher revenues in the next couple of year.“We are constantly buying equipments

to replace all equipments and whenever the need arisen. We are also investing in civil works, equipment and port facil-ity,” he added.Recently, ATI bought 3 rubber tired

gantries (RTG) cranes worth USD3.4 million. This year, ATI will have a new combined South Harbor truck holding area and will be expanding the container terminal stacking yard significantly.“I have always stressed that one of the

core strengths of ATI is the capability to combine expertise, equipment and other resources to offer integrated port solu-tions. This principle of synergy runs true not only in South Harbor but through-out the whole company,” Smith said.With the significant development in

business operation of South harbor, ATI will continually work on developing new and innovative ways to improve the ter-minals capacity in the coming years.ATI claimed its continued growth can

only be assured if ATI has a clear plan to progressively develop the country’s gateway to international shipping and trade.The last phase of the development plan

lasts from 2014 to 2022 wherein they will develop and expand the container yard.ATI reportedly put fresh investment of

USD350 million for the South Harbor after the PPA approved its cargo-han-dling contract extension for another 25 years through 2038.Based on the plan, the short-term proj-

ects include the extension of crane rails and adding one more quay crane at Pier 3; the building of crane rails and two ad-ditional quay cranes at pier 9 and the de-velopment of additional container yard at adjacent to its Eva Macapagal Domes-tic Terminal.To date, ATI is undertaking the reha-

bilitation of Pier 13 into the first dedi-cated covered motor vehicle terminal in the Philippines.

aTi puts fresh investments

Optimistic of trade upturn in 2008

likely to hit the older, traditional, shipping countries harder. They will view 2008 as a year for caution. There are already signs that the challenges facing financial mar-kets means they are having difficulties raising capital for projects. Those 10,000 new vessels, on order, will require 350 bil-lion US dollars to finance over the next five years. Faced with a credit crisis it takes a very brave man or woman to commit to such high finance.and, still, the ship sails onWhatever short term turbulence the eco-

nomic slowdown causes worldwide, the demand for high quality experienced Fili-pino seafarers will continue to grow.Whichever ways economic power shifts

around the globe the facts are these: the industry is booming and this continues to generate more and more work.Shipping underpins 90 percent of global

trade, and whether the trend to build fewer but bigger ships continues, there is always going to be higher demand for good qual-ity seafarers than there is supply.I know I made this point in the last edi-

tion of Harborscope, but it’s worth making again. The value to the Philippines econ-omy of investing in high quality training can not be overstated.A seminar held last week discussed the

challenges matching supply to demand.DNV, the well-established Norwegian

shipping society, discussed the issue at its meeting in Singapore and concluded that the shortage of officers has led to lower re-tention and faster promotion. The boom in shipping and of new builds is only going to increase the pressures. Add to that the introduction of sophis-

ticated new technology on board ships (which require speciality knowledge and training) and all of this adds up to [what I discussed in Harborscope last time] which is a global shortage of skilled officers.

�MaTe cHecK February–March 2008

in response to the challenges of time

MMaP calls for professionalism

�MaTe cHecK February–March 2008

Commodore Adonis B. Donato, president of the Master and Mates Association of the Philippines (MMAP) has called

for further professionalism of their profession to cope up with the growing trends and challenges of time.Speaking before the 10th Merchant Ma-

rine Conference on February 12, 2008 at the Traders Hotel along Roxas Boulevard, Manila, which coincided with the associ-ation’s 33rd anniversary, the commodore stressed the need for upgrading of skills especially those in the management level positions, and would-be managers, to step up and upgrade themselves to fill in the vacuum created by the shortage. He likewise exhorted the members to be

opened to the changes and challenges the world maritime fleet offers. The MMAP president said, “It is imperative that we professionalize further our profession. This is of paramount importance to us and to our profession.” For 33 years now, MMAP continues to

campaign for professionalism, uphold the code of ethics for merchant marine officer, and promote continuing education and training among deck officers to become the most preferred ship officers in the world maritime fleet.“We invite you to join us in renewing

our commitment to our profession, to

our people and country, and to the world maritime fleet. And the only way we can do that is to improve ourselves and match our skills with the fast-developing trend in the maritime field,” Commodore Donato emphasized. Commodore Donato’s message comple-

ments with that of Labor Secretary Hon. Arturo D. Brion’s words for MMAP’s 33rd anniversary. “I therefore ask you to continue to rise

to this very important challenge to your profession. Your role in maintaining the global leadership of Filipino seafarers is as crucial to our country’s development goals. I know and I believe you can meet the challenges of your profession head on,” Secretary Brion said.He urged the association to continuously

provide programs and inspiration to their members to further enhance their profes-sional and career development not only for their personal growth but also towards na-tion building.“The continuing challenge to improve

your professional ranks is as much a chal-

lenge in improving the lives of every Fili-pino,” the labor secretary furthered.

resolution for MLC implementation to be released soonPart of the call for the further profession-

alism of their profession – as a dynamic response to the challenges of the present times – is the call of the many proponents of the Management Level Course (MLC).During the said conference, the deputy

administrator for maritime office of the Labor Department, Noriel Devanadera, has emphasized the importance of the MLC and that it is long overdue since it was presented to the International Mari-time Organization a couple of years ago.Devanadera clarified that the government

will come up with a resolution for the im-

plementation of the highly-controversial MLC on or before July 1, 2008. However, as to what type of MLC will be implemented is yet to be announced.But as earlier proposed, captains and

chief mates who already passed the writ-ten examination will no longer be required to take the MLC. OICs who have sufficient shipboard experience may opt to take the MLC before or after the scheduled licen-sure examination. The move is apparently supported by the

MMAP, members of the Filipino Associa-tion for Mariner’s Employment, the Phil-Japan Manning Consultative Council, and the Japanese Shipowners Association, among others.The 10th Merchant Marine Conference

and 33rd Founding Anniversary of MMAP is sponsored by Smart Communications, Inc. and OSM.

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CONTACT PERSONSCAPT. COSTAS CALAFATIS, CAPT. IRENEO DULAY

AND MS. TESS B. MALAGIOK

8 February–March 2008

The John B. Lacson Foundation Maritime University (JBLFMU) has initiated the very first International Maritime Conference in its campus in Arevalo, Iloilo City, Philippines with

a theme “Sharing best practices in maritime education and training to meet world shipping needs.”

adhering to the call for quality maritime education and training

John B. Lacson initiates 1st international Maritime conference

The conference, graced by foreign and lo-cal resource speakers, is the contribution of JBLFMU to the call of the industry for a quality maritime education and training for our future seafarers.Hence, the conference theme is geared to-

wards dynamic challenges JBLFMU is set to face with consideration to the expecta-tions of the stakeholders.Among those invited for the conference

were Ambassador Stale Torstein Risa of Royal Norwegian Embassy, Ms. Eleanor BA. Fernandez of the Commission on Higher Education, Administrator Vicen-te T. Suazo, Jr. of the Maritime Industry Authority, Dr. Peter Swift of Intertanko UK, JICA Expert Dr. Shin Murata of the Maritime Training Council, NSA Project Manager Capt. Morten Johnsen of the Norwegian Shipowner’s Association, Dr. Hisashi Yamamoto of the International Association of Maritime Universities.Also invited are Chairman Rod Short

of Global Maritime Education and Training Association, Dr. Angelica M. Baylon of the Maritime Academy of Asia and the Pacific, Capt. Christer Bergquist of Kalmar Maritime Acade-my in Sweden, and Mr. Roberto Nahon of Bureau Veritas. On the second day were Ralph A. Cardeno

from the Negros Oriental State University, Mr. Marmon A. Pagunsan from Nizwa College of Technology in the Sultanate of Oman, Dr. Francisco Javier Martinez de Oses from Nautical de Barcelona, and Mr. Fazlur Chowdhury of Bahamas Maritime Authority.

Finest maritime universityIn his keynote address, His Excellency

Stale Torstein Risa – Norway Ambassador to the Philippines said, “maritime schools must adopt their own procedures and practices.” “At this juncture, it is natural to revert to

John B. Lacson Foundation Maritime Uni-versity – a school that has always demon-strated both willingness and the ability to learn and adapt, depending on changing

shipping industry needs,” the Norwegian ambassador said. Risa furthered that the school (JBLFMU)

focuses on practices with respect on how to best-deliver top-quality seafarers is very much in line with the IMO “human ele-ment vision” document.He concluded by saying that by better un-

derstanding of the seafarer’s situation and performance is vital if one is to appreci-ate and meet world shipping needs in the years ahead. “And there I have arrived full circle, once

again at the core issue: world shipping needs and how educators and training institutions can meet them – in partner-ship with the industry and other stake-holders. I leave this now in your hands to grapple with, and our confidence that you will come away from this conference with new element.”

Sharing best practicesMs. Eleanor BA. Fernandez, chief educa-

tion specialist in CHED Central office, in her presentation said what CHED is doing for maritime education in the country is concentrate in making reforms and other initiatives in improving tertiary education.“CHED, in combined tasks with MTC,

shall continue to develop, formulate and prescribe educational standards to pro-mote quality maritime education for future seafarers based on STCW requirements; monitor closely the compliance of mari-time Heist vis-à-vis CHED and STCW re-quirement; undertake studies, programs and projects for the upgrading of seafar-ers; and implement strict measures to en-sure that the providers of seafarers’ educa-tion comply with STCW requirements,” she claimed.According to Ms. Fernandez, some of

CHED’s best practices and initiatives in-clude participatory leadership and manage-ment, facing issues and concerns promptly and honestly, welcome new developments, annual monitoring and assessment of all maritime institutions, moratorium on the opening of new maritime programs, iden-

tifying centers of development and centers of excellence in maritime education, and new programs in maritime education.This year, said the chief education special-

ist, the policies and standards for graduate programs in maritime education as well as the mode of delivery -distance educa-tion will be developed. She noted though JBLFMU is way ahead in this area.Dr. Angelica M. Baylon of the Maritime

Academy of Asia and the Pacific has also shared an innovative teaching practice to meet the world shipping needs through Problem-based Learning in Maritime Ed-ucation and Training (PBL - MET).According to her, the objective of the

PBL - MET are three-fold: to simplify the difference between the PBL-MET versus the content-based learning (CBL) in MET, to share some best practices on PBL - MET being exercised locally and in the international arena because the knowledge, skills and attitudes of the students are believed to be better devel-oped in compliance with the STCW 95 competency-based requirements and to provide some insights on PBL as an in-novative teaching trend that would con-tribute its share in meeting the world shipping needs.The maritime schools in the Philippines

are encouraged to reflect, ponder and keep with the changing times by applying this new teaching trend in MET as maybe ap-plicable.

Special Feature

Practicing PBL in MET would also lead in the implementation of the three mandated functions of Higher Educational Institu-tions (HEIs) namely Instruction, Research and Extension Services. The paper ends with relevant conclu-

sions and recommendations for pos-sible considerations by the International Maritime Organization (IMO), the MET Associations like the Global Maritime Education and Training Association (GlobalMET) and Philippine Associa-tion of Maritime Institution (PAMI), MET Academic Administrators, MET lecturers and MET students.She also stated the difference between

teaching and effective teaching. Ms. Bay-lon said teaching as defined as simply “giving students something”, whereas ef-fective teaching is defined “as a complex intellectually demanding and socially challenging task which consist of a set of skills that can be acquired, improved and extended.” Analyzing the word teaching as “some-

thing given “reveals that something could be knowledge, skills or attitudes in the broadest point of view. Questions are fur-ther advanced such as: What and how will I teach this to students? How will the stu-dents learn this? What type? How much and to what extent? The JBLFMU has been very open to the

changes, development, and challenges even new trends in quality maritime edu-cation and training. In spite of the count-less recognitions and distinctive awards which prove that teaching at JBLFMU are effective, it (JBLFMU) still took the initia-tive to welcome those who wishes to share best and effective practices in MET not only to learn but also to meet world ship-ping needs. It is also on this premise that the confer-

ence, which they (JBLFMU) have concep-tualized, aims to share what they have suc-cessfully done, to inspire others and learn something best to practice maritime edu-cation and training effectively.

Dr. Peter Swift, managing director of intertanko in uK, shares some best practices that will lead to quality maritime education and training. Looking on are capt. Morten Johnsen, NSa Project Manager of the Norwegian Shipowners’ association and Dr. Shin Murata, Jica expert of the Maritime Training council.

Maritime schools must

adopt their own procedures and

practices.– Norwegian

Ambassador Stale Torstein Risa

�February–March 2008

The John B. Lacson Foundation Maritime University (JBLFMU) conferred the Doctor of Science Degree Honoris

Causa to two great men of the maritime industry – Mr. Jacob Stolt-Nielsen and Mr. Andreas K.L. Ugland – for their great contributions in the maritime trade that have changed the lives of many people around the globe.

JBLFMu confers Honoris causato Stolt-Nielsen and ugland

Special Feature

“This distinction is accorded only to those whose achievements have dramati-cally changed people’s lives for the better,” said Dr. Mary Lou L. Arcelo, chief execu-tive officer and chairman of the board of trustees of the JBLFMU.Born in 1931 in Haugesund, Norway, Ja-

cob Stolt-Nielsen who came from a ship-owning family and was a third generation ship-owner, was called a visionary man, an innovator and an entrepreneur.In 1955, a year after he started working

for J.J. Chianelli, Inc. in New York – a broker in solvents and vegetable oils, he designed and installed a simple practical system of pipelines and deep well pumps, giving birth to the parcel tanker. It was in 1960 when his strong friend-

ship with Filipinos started after know-ing that there millions of coconut trees in the Philippines. But prior to his first visit, Stolt-Nielsen has been hiring Filipino crew and at present, 16 of its SNTGI’s bulk liq-uid tankers have full Filipino crew – more than 2,000 officers and ratings combined.Since then, classrooms and medical/hos-

pital facilities were donated by the SNTGI for Filipino seafarers and their families. His long friendship with Capt. Gregorio Oca has brought forth many blessings to our Filipino seafarers and the Philippine manning industry as well.To sum it all, Stolt-Nielsen has pioneered

in the deep sea chemical parcel trade, start-ed first regularly scheduled service for par-cels of solvents and chemicals in 1959; by 1963 18 Parcel Tankers were in operations cruising the trans-Atlantic, trans-Pacific, Great Lakes, and South American trade routes; acquired its first storage terminal in 1970, the Sea Farm A/S; acquired the United Tank Containers in 1982 and set up the Stolt Tank containers; went public in 1988 raising USD51 million; consolidated

three companies into Stolt-Nielsen Trans-portation Group, Inc. in 1999 earning USD2 billion with 10,000 employees; and ventured in e-commerce in 2000 which led to the establishment of the Optimum Logistics Ltd.He retired as CEO of Stolt-Nielsen SA

in 2000 and as chairman of Stolt-Nielsen Transportation Group in 2001 turning-over the reins to his son Niels Greger. He remains chairman of the Stolt-Nielsen S.A. though. On the other hand, Andreas K.L. Ug-

land developed the first D.P. Shuttle tank-ers, pipe-and-cable layers and specialized car carriers, and developed the technical department for design, supervision and operation and improved transportation economy for ore and automobile carriers upon joining the family company A/S Ug-land Rederi (UR) in 1951. Born in 1930 in Norway, Andreas found-

ed the wholly owned Ugland Management Co. A/S (UMC) in 1966 and later devel-oped into offshore oil contracting and project research and development, bulk-ers and tankers and the first specialized RORO car carries. In 1999, UMC became the Andreas Ugland & Sons (AUS).Andreas has been a member of the Board

of the Norwegian Veritas; member of Lloyds Committee in London; chair of the Scandinavian Committee of Lloyds and chairman of the Scandinavian Commit-tee of the American Bureau of Shipping; represented Norwegian shipowners on the Norwegian Maritime Directorate Board; and represented the NMB at IMCO’s Safe-ty of Life at Sea in 1960.He drafted the first cooperation agree-

ment between the Philippines and Nor-way. In cooperation with Mr. Carlos Sa-linas of FSA/PTC, he initiated the MD of Uddavallavarvet (UV) Philippine, Swed-

ish, and Norwegian authorities to build the three sophisticated OBO 2, 3, and 4 at UV for delivery to Philippine companies with charter back to Andreas Ugland & Sons AS.He became the chairman of INTER-

TANKO and led the discussion with American authorities regarding the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 and the legal re-sponsibilities of companies and officers and the introduction of the double hull tankers; developed good cooperation with Capt. Gregorio Oca and assisted the AMOSUP in the building of hospitals, dental clinics, and maternity centers, among others.In 1984, he was bestowed by the Norwe-

gian King the highest award which could be given to a private person – the “Knight of First Class of the Royal Norwegian Saint Olav’s Order” – for his innovative contri-bution to Norwegian shipping; in 1998, he was conferred the Italian “Order of Com-

mendatore Nell Ordine Merito della Re-publica Italiana” by the Italian president.Andreas equally transferred to his three

sons his shares in the main shipping and offshore companies, bank, and estates in 1994.The conferment of Honoris Causa to

Stolt-Nielsen and Ugland on January 30 was one of the highlights of the 60th an-niversary of JBLFMU – giving honor to distinguished shipping pillars for their valuable contribution in the industry and in the Philippines, and for the innovation, development, and transfer of knowledge bestowed to the JBLFMU as a result of its productive partnership with the first and only maritime university in the country.The families of Stolt-Nielsen and Ugland,

who came all the way from Norway to witness the conferment ceremonies, were grateful to JBLFMU for such initiative and honorary recognitions to their respective patriarch.

Dr. Mary Lou L. arcelo, chief executive officer and chairman of the board of trustees of the JBLFMu, flanked byandreas K.L. ugland and Jacob Stolt-Nielsen, respectively.

Another highlight of the week-long 60th anniversary of John B. Lacson Foundation Maritime University (JBLFMU)

is the opening of Odfjell facilities at the JBLFMU grounds in Bacolod City on February 1, 2008.

Odfjell unveils facility at JBLFMu–Bacolod

Gracing the inaugural with Dr. Mary Lou Arcelo of JBLFMU are Mr. Helge Olsen, senior vice president for ship management department of Odjfell and Capt. Kjell Jo-hansen, vice president for marine person-nel section.In his speech, Olsen said the Odfjell facil-

ities, which marks the continuing partner-ship with JBLFMU, reflects the continuing expansion of their cadetship program with the University. “We cannot see a more fitting time to inau-

gurate this building than on the occasion of the 60th Founding Anniversary of this great maritime institution,” said Olsen.The said building is the same as the first

one that has been put up composed of two classrooms and two cadet quarters. Upon full completion of this second

building, Odfjell will start the construc-tion of a third building that will house an Odfjell office, a library, a receiving room, a recreation room and a gym.

Soon enough, said Olsen, the Odfjell complex will have a fully-landscaped facil-ity in John B. Lacson Colleges - Bacolod complete with perimeter fence, main gate, security and maintenance personnel.

Apart from the structures, the complex that Odfjell has envisioned is a concrete manifestation of its strong commitment to the cadetship program it inks with John B. Lacson Maritime University.

Olsen assured that the commitment will continue in the years ahead and more im-portantly, the creation of more facility will assure its cadets of the most comprehensive and fulfilling maritime education and train-ing towards a rewarding seafaring career.

Taking pride with its cadetship programOlsen recalled when it started its cadet-

ship program with John B. Lacson Mari-time University, the first batch of 24 cadets are now having their shipboard training which will culminate on May 2008.

“After completing their 2-1-1 education, we expect them all to become full-pledged sea-farers upon their graduation in March 2009,” he said.

To date, Odfjell has 74 ca-dets under Odfjell Cadetship Program with John B. Lacson Maritime University – 25 ca-dets having shipboard train-ing, 25 in the second year, and 24 new entrants.

This undertaking is in addi-tion to the cadets Odfjell have been taking from the NSA program, better known to-day as the NIS program, since 2002.

Odfjell is also proud of the two students under cadetship program at JBLCF-Ba-colod who were chosen among the 20 candidates to represent the campus for the John B. Lacson Maritime University Model Cadet for school year 2007-08.

“Surely, that speaks a lot about the qual-ity of the Odfjell Cadetship Program,” he said. The senior vice president for ship management department attributes the continuing evolution of its cadetship program with John B. Lacson Maritime

University to the wisdom and vision of its president, Dr. Mary Lou Arcelo, who is considered one of the industry pillars in Philippine maritime education and training.“All of our cadets will be develop to be-

come the most professional and competent ship officers on board our fleet of chemical tankers, a specialized field of shipping of which Odfjell has been widely regarded all over the world. They will also be enrolled in the Odfjell Career and Competence Management Program to monitor and ensure that they all progress in their sea-faring profession at the right time,” con-cluded Olsen.

Dr. arcelo, with capt. Kjell Johansen (center) and Mr. Helge Olsen (right), lead the ceremonial ribbon cutting at Odfjell facilities

inside John B. Lacson – Bacolod.

10 February–March 2008

Special Feature

The John B. Lacson Colleges Foundation has recently celebrated its 1st year anniversary as a Maritime University

and 60 years of service to the Filipino people, country, and the world maritime fleet.

Core Values

The core values of JBLCF are EDUCATION, LIFE, PROGRESS, and DISCIPLINE.

We are first…

awardee of the PQA-Commitment to Quality Management outside of Luzon

accredited maritime education in the country

maritime higher education institution granted level III accredited status by the PACU-COA

maritime school to have published Maritime Education Review

DNV-certified higher education institution in the Philippines\

Maritime school in the country to be ISO 9001:2000 certified

Maritime institution given the full autonomy status by the CHED

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

�0 fruitful years in service

John B. Lacson celebrates first anniversary as Maritime university

The week-long celebration, which com-menced on 28 January to 1 February 2008, was graced by foreign and Filipino digni-taries in the maritime business who ex-tended warm congratulatory greetings and strong support to the growth and progress of the premiere maritime institution. For 60 years now, John B. Lacson Colleges

Foundation remained steadfast and dedi-cated to maritime education and training. It was able to sustain and keep pace with the fast technological advancement in the shipping world - making their curriculum and the skills of their students – match and abreast with the latest, state-of-the-art facilities the dynamic shipping world requires. The track record of John B. Lacson Col-

leges Foundation as a premier maritime institution makes it the most deserving to become a maritime university.Hence, the new name John B. Lac-

son Foundation Maritime University (JBLFMU) would mean renewed and con-tinued commitment to the seafaring world in the production of future competent sea-farers, and constant noble undertakings to help strengthen and fortify the Philippine crewing industry.As a kick start to the renewed commit-

ment, JBLFMU initiated the very first in-ternational maritime conference with a theme “Sharing best practices in maritime

education and training to meet world ship-ping needs” on January 29 to 30.It has invited experts in the maritime ed-

ucation such as Dr. Hisashi Yamamoto of the International Association of Maritime Universities, Capt. Christer Bergquist of Kalmar Maritime Academy in Sweden, Mr. Marmon A. Pagunsan of Nizwa College of Technology in Sultanate of Oman, JICA Expert Dr. Shin Murata of the Maritime Training Council, NSA Project Manager Capt. Morten Johnsen of the Norwegian Shipowners Association, and Ms. Eleanor B.A. Fernandez of the Commission on Higher Education, among others. With this initiative, JBLFMU is now be-

ginning to see its direction, the realization

of its vision and the fruit of fulfilling its mission. As to the secret of its success, JBLFMU

Chair and CEO Dr. Mary Lou L. Arcelo is proud to report that they have remained compliant with the national and interna-tional standards and had strive to exceed stakeholders’ expectations.“The success of John B. Lacson as a Mari-

time University can be clearly defined in their seven point agenda which are dedica-tion to maritime education and training, strong graduate and research program, sustained technological environment, ad-herence to changes in the maritime envi-ronment regulatory requirements, quest for global competitive edge in maritime education, pursuit of international recog-nition, and corporate responsibility.”As for its future plans for JBLFMU, Dr.

Arcelo revealed, “We will definitely push through with our level-four accreditation. We are the only school right now in the Philippines with level three.” Having level-four accreditation would mean JBLFMU has reached international standards. “We have to live the standards and of

course, work hard to become the center for excellence. This time, I am really going to push for it because I really feel that we have the standards for excellence,” assured Dr. Arcelo.His Excellency Stale Torstein Risa, Nor-

way Ambassador to the Philippines, lauded the late Master Mariner John B. Lacson for his decision to provide maritime educa-tion and training to young Filipino people after the second world war in 1948. The then Iloilo Maritime Academy has

gone a long way and it has grown and

prosper to what is now the John B Lacson Foundation Maritime University that has three impressive campuses at Arevalo and Molo, Iloilo City as well as in Bacolod on Negros and a special training center on the beautiful island of Guimaras. The vision of the late John B. Lacson,

whose visionary efforts was continued and enhanced by Dr. Arcelo, paved the way for the success of JBLFMU to become one of the finest maritime schools in the country being very much at forefront with respect to procedures and best practices in areas such as student competence, assessment systems and shipboard training, among others.Ambassador Risa commended JBLFMU

for “meeting the maritime transport in-dustry’ strong demand for world-class, technical and professional manpower -the vision of and quality-based approach to maritime education.”The DNV of Norway, said Risa, recog-

nized the institution’s qualities, and has certified its quality assurance system-the first such certification in the Philippines and the second in Asia.And because of these qualifications, the

Norwegian Ship Owners’ Association chose JBLFMU to be one of the very select group of schools for its Norwegian Inter-national Ship Registry Cadet program – a highly successful officers program.Realizing the need to invest in cadet

berths, numbers of manning companies and shipowners have tied up with JBLFMU for their cadet programs and even invested in the further quality trainings by donat-ing facilities in the premises of the only maritime university in the Philippines.

ViSion

The JBLCF System shall be the leading institution in quality education and

training through Total Quality Assurance and shall be a major global supplier of competent, qualified, and morally

upright professionals and leaders in loyal service to God, Country and

Company.

As a socially responsible corporate citizen, the JBLF

system shall advocate ethics in its undertaking

and address environment and community concerns.

MiSSion

JBLF shall provide quality education and training

through instruction, research and extension, in its unrelenting quest

for excellence as a major global supplier of world-

class, technical and professional manpower.

10 February–March 2008

aPPOOP calls for continuous dredging of Pasig riverThe Association of Private Port Operators and Owners of

the Philippines (APPOOP) are batting for a continuous maintenance dredging of the Pasig River instead of a one-time expensive dredging.The operators claimed that it will not

only save the government huge amount of money, it will also guarantee that the river, which was in earlier times the lynchpin of the transport and commerce network in the Philippines, will be dredged and main-tained according to plan.To date, the river is only three meters

deep and vessels could only navigate dur-ing high tide. According to the operators, the ideal draft of the Pasig River should be between from 5-7 meters. In a discussion with the APPOOP, the

group explained the current program be-ing implemented is costing the govern-ment million of pesos with the end result is not met as contractors are more inclined to its profit margin.They explained that contractors are just

putting dredging machines to certain points and then stop its operations after some time, let the machine stay there for a while, and then pull it out. During evalua-tion, no improvements were made but they claimed that the huge siltation problem of the river immediately affected the project. “What should be done is a long-term plan

wherein dredging will be slowly but meet-ing the objective instead of a “band-aid” solution like what is being enforced,” AP-POOP said.

“Pasig River is a port itself, it has to be properly maintained, dredged and moni-tored to function properly,” the group stressed.“Dredging should be done like clock

works,” it said.According to APPOOP, the current state

of the Pasig River is bumping logistics cost high due to slower transit time, bigger fuel and maintenance expenses.Based on their estimates, companies uti-

lizing the river are losing some 5-10% of their revenues as deliveries are being done only during high tide due to the siltation problem of the river.The percentage is bump even higher if

the vessel failed to deliver within the lim-ited period as it have to wait for another 24 hours before it can deliver resulting to higher overhead cost that are passed on to consumers.The group also claimed that some com-

panies already chose to close shop and relocate somewhere else to save on ex-penses.“Until the government changes its dredg-

ing and maintenance plan for the river, it will continue to result to business ineffi-ciency and higher cost for the consumers,” APPOOP stressed.

The river, on the other hand, has now been declared a critical water body because of the unspeakable amount of waste dumped into it daily by households and industries. About 330 tons of industrial and domestic wastes are discharged everyday in this wa-terway, depleting the biochemical oxygen needed to support marine life.In 1999, President Estrada ordered a 15-

year project to clean the river until 2014—and hopefully see fish return to its now filthy waters. Backed by USD176.8 million from the

Asian Development Bank (ADB), the project

entails the redevelopment of riverside slums, relocation of tens of thousands of squatters and the launch of a passenger ferry. At the halfway mark, government officials

and ADB experts say progress has been made, but much more needs to be done if the Pasig is to regain its former splendor. In early 2000, the Lighterage Associa-

tion of the Philippines—the main users of the Pasig River—has partnered with the City Government of Manila to dredge and maintain the river but no significant improvement has yet to be released as to date.

Mouth of the Pasig river. courtesy of Wikipedia user Alternativity accessed 10:50 AM 3/9/2008 http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/be/Pasig_Intramuros.JPG

The Philippine Government is targeting 12.5% or about 1,000 vessels out of the 8,000 new vessel deliveries worldwide in

2010-2012 to register in the local ship registry.

rP eyes 1,000 vessels for local ship registry

It will also translate to about USD20 – USD25 million in annual revenues from the vessels alone and will be bump higher if the number of vessels registered increases.Maritime Industry Authority (Marina)

administrator Vicente Suazo, Jr., in a press briefing said it will be the result of the ongoing fine-tuning of the country’s ship registry rules by allowing foreigners to list in the country and strengthen the country’s local ship registry.Suazo said the Executive Order (EO),

which will provide foreigners several in-centives such as tax holidays and other perks if they list with the local registry, is already with the President for consider-ation and approval.According to Suazo, the implementation,

“once approved, the local ship will increase significantly from 169 to more than 1,000 vessels in the initial stages of implementa-tion.” “It is expected to increase about 10% an-

nually and generate approximately USD25

million in revenues for the Authority aside from providing more employment oppor-tunities for Filipino seafarers and cement our hold as the manning capital of the world,” claimed Suazo.The Marina chief also explained that the

registry rules will also bring logistics cost lower with more vessels to choose from and compete with the carriage of government and private foreign trade unlike now that it is mostly cornered by foreign-flag vessels.Among the proposed changes in the ship

registry rules include the scrapping of the 4.5% withholding tax and the introduction of the tonnage fee and annual registration of vessels.According to Suazo, these changes will

reinforce Filipino shipowners’ competi-tiveness in landing the Government’s foreign trade, as current rule forced them to register elsewhere to do away with the 4.5% withholding tax requirement to car-ry the Government’s foreign trade such as rice, corn and coal.

Also, under the proposal, foreign-owned ships represented by a ship management company duly accredited by Marina would be entitled to fly the country’s flag.It will also provide for the setting up of

register offices in other countries to fa-cilitate, control and enforce compliance of ships flying the flag.The proposal will also be on top of the

already-implemented relaxation of the country’s bareboat chartering law, which has been extended indefinitely while wait-ing for the EO to be signed.To date, the Philippines has 169 vessels

flying the Philippine Flag. The number has been dwindling the past 10 years.

Aside from the EO, Marina is also closely coordinating with the private and interna-tional sector to make the Philippine flag registry more attractive and open to for-eigners and local shipowners.Marina likewise continue to look at

means on how to plug the loopholes of the system and ease up the existing ship owing rules and allow foreigners to penetrate the registry.Such practice, however, is being frowned

upon by the global maritime industry as it allows ships to go to another country that has laxer requirement but the safety and work conditions of the employees on board are compromised.

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11FLeeT STreeT February–March 2008

FLeeT STreeT12 February–March 2008

Trade and travel to Manila from Cavite is now comfortable courtesy of MetroStar Ferry, Incorporated (MFI). The

proposed ferry service that will service passengers from the Mall of Asia to Orion, Bataan is now in progress.

cutting crew

MetroStar shortcuts Manila

It cuts the usual three to four hour bus ride from Bataan to Manila to only an hour and 20 minutes. The usual two-hour travel time from Manila to Cavite via land transportation is reduced to only 45 min-utes. Travel time is even shortened via the

comfortable, reliable, and inexpensive fer-ry services of MFI as all crafts depart and arrive on time, irregardless of the number of passengers they have.The Php300-million venture of MFI also

supports the Filipino ingenuity as it uses the modern twin-hulled, twin-engine and fiberglass-made boats designed by Filipi-nos, from Navotas and Malabon.At present, MFI has three vessels – the

m/s Doña Avelina, Doña Mercedez, and Doña Ines ferries.Doña Avelina is the smallest at 63.5 feet

with 130 passenger capacity. The Doña Mercedez measures 78.19 feet while the Doña Ines, being the largest is more than a hundred feet with a 550 seating capacity. The Doña Ines is being used as a cruise

ship plying the waters of Manila Bay to of-fer passengers a leisure journey across the scenic waters of the Capital city.The ferry service provider adheres to the

strict guidelines of the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) to ensure the safety of their passengers. It is equipped with life vests, fire extinguishers, life rafts, and first-aid kits, among other safety features required by law to operate passenger ferries.

Each ferry boat is equipped with state-of-the-art navigational equipment such as ra-dar, sonar, GPS, and radio apparatus. The three ferries are designed in accordance with the stringent standards of the Mari-time Industry Authority (Marina) on do-mestic vessels.

MFI Administrator Ms. Bernadette Fa-bian said in an interview that as one of the safety measures, ‘it is a policy not to accept unaccompanied baggage so as not to risk the passenger’s safety.’

“The company does not allow solicitors or vendors either to board the ferries to sell anything to protect the privacy of the commuters,” said Fabian.

One coast guard officer is being stationed at every MetroStar terminal. All passen-gers are being required to sign a manifesto before boarding the ferry. Every passenger is insured with Php200,000 insurance (per passenger) to cover any responsibilities that may arise from any untoward inci-dents.

Regular passenger fare per head is Php75.00. Senior citizens and students enjoy a special rate of Php60. MetroStar Ferry transports an average of 250 passen-gers a day and it increases during holidays, special events, and weekends.

The terminal in Cavite City opens at 6:30 am up to 7:10 pm while the ferry station in Mall of Asia is open from 7:10 in the morning until 6:30 in the evening.

Value-added servicesMFI also ensures the convenience of their

commuters. All air-conditioned vessels have toilet facilities to guarantee the com-fortable travel of each passenger.One of the value-added services being

offered by MFI aside from allotting free parking spaces for commuters in its safe, well-lighted and well-ventilated terminals, the ferry operator also offers free shuttle rides that will service passengers from the terminal to the Mall of Asia – not really to promote the mall but to bring the pas-senger closer to public land transport ac-cessibility.MFI also offers river tours for students,

and local and foreign tourists. Fabian un-derscored that they do not allow transport

of cargoes because the ferries are designed only for passengers. The administrator disclosed some devel-

opments, which are now underway, in im-proving their services and in considering other routes.According to Fabian, there are also

proposed terminals in Navotas going to Hagonoy, Bulacan, and Guagua, Pampan-ga. She said MFI plans to increase its fleet to 15 ferry boats.MetroStar Ferry, Incorporated is a pri-

vate ferry service, owned and managed by people with extensive shipping experience. It is financially supported by a guarantee from the Philippine Export Import Credit Agency (Philexim) and the Philippine Vet-eran’s Bank.

Local carriers are expecting a rosy freight business starting this year and in the next five years anchored on the

onslaught of the mining and construction businesses in the country. Mining and construction businesses are the biggest earners in the country last year.

Local shipping eyes 10-15% growth in freight

Passage service, on the other hand, is expected to continue its rebound from the slumping trade after business picked-up late last year.According to the Philippine Liner and

Shippers Association (PLSA), the largest organization of local freight and passage service providers, said freight business will continue its strong performance this year and expect to double its growth posted last year.It added that with the mining and con-

struction industries continue to boom in the next three to five years, local cargo carriers are expecting to fully benefit from its growth from the third to the fifth year or from 2010 to 2013.“The local shipping industry is starting

to get interesting. It [has] started to get

lion metric tons (mmt) annually the past three years to about 53 mmt and about 58 to 60 mmt next year. It is also forecasted to have an average of 3.4% annual growth rate from 2010 to 2015.Earlier, the Japan International Coop-

eration Agency (JICA) likewise projected a steady growth in the freight sector for Philippines until 2015.According to a JICA report, domestic

sea freight has been steadily expanding in volume from about 26 mmt in 1988 to 48 mmt in 2003. In the last five years, how-ever, growth has been very weak at only 1.6% per annum. Sea traffic is 25% liquid bulk, 15% dry bulk, 22% container traffic and 26% break bulk. In the last few years, there has been a slow down in liquid bulk and break bulk traffic. Only container traf-fic has been increasing at 4.7% per annum since 1999.On the other hand, the Philippine Ports

Authority continue to project medium single-digit to low double-digit growth for this year’s total cargo traffic but said the growth will still be dependent on the

country’s economic condition and the movement of oil prices in the world mar-ket.Earlier, the Maritime Industry Au-

thority said the shipbuilding and ship repair industries are the two most vi-able growth areas for the local shipping industry citing the shortage of second-hand imported vessels from Japan while there is a huge demand in new vessels for the country in the next five to ten years.

For this year, the sea freight traffic is estimated

to grow by 10% from47.5-50 million metric

tons (mmt) annually the past three years to

about 53 mmt and about58 to 60 mmt next year.

It is also forecastedto have an average of

3.4% annual growth ratefrom 2010 to 2015.

MetroStar ferries. photos courtesy of MetroStar Ferry, Incorporated.

rosy. Freight business is expected to grow about 10-15% this year and double it by 2010 while the passage business has like-wise started to pick-up,” PLSA said.“I think we already hit the bottom of our

total business slowdown and operators are hoping that the growth posted towards the end of the year will finally arrest shipping operators from the sagging shipping busi-ness,” PLSA added.“Freight business will continue to grow. It

is again arguably the biggest growth area for the shipping industry this year while the passage sector is expected to benefit from the added purchasing power of the public due to the strong appreciation of the peso,” the association added further.For this year, the sea freight traffic is es-

timated to grow by 10% from 47.5-50 mil-

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13POrT SiDe February–March 2008

Marina may implementshipbreaking program this year

Now that major shipbuilders are in our backyard, the Maritime Industry Authority (Marina) is set to

implement the ship breaking and ship retirement program this year to further push for the shipbuilding industry.

LGC Logistics offers stripping/deconsoli-dation, consolidation, delivery to end-user, inventory management system, domestic freight system, and complete logistical ser-vices.LGC chair Alberto Lina, in an interview

at the sidelines of the formal launching of the facility in Camelray Techno Park in Laguna last week, said the facility—the first container yard/container freight station for the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA)—will likewise enable PEZA locators in the Cavite, La-guna, Batangas, Rizal, Quezon (Calabar-zon) to reduce waiting time as the facil-ity can also clear cargoes on Saturdays and Sundays.According to Lina, this will translate to

about 20% savings in company overheads due to faster transit time of air and sea freight from ports to the shipper’s doorsteps.“In logistics, what is important is how

fast you deliver the goods to the company.

With the facility, we will be able to trans-fer under-guard consolidation consigned to LGC from the port area to the facility two days earlier compared to the existing 5 days—two days transit time and one day cargo releasing,” Lina explained.“It will likewise answer the clamor of

shippers for lower logistics cost to cush-ion effect of the strong appreciation of the Philippine peso,” Lina explained further.“Initially, the facility will cater to the

needs of the PEZA-registered companies in the Calabarzon area but will eventually be marketed to non-locators,” Lina added.He added that carriers should also bat for

the same investments in other vital areas nationwide to reduce the cost of doing business in the country.PEZA director general Lilia de Lima, for

her part, said the operation of the inland container depot is perfect since it was intro-duced at the time shippers need a reduction of cost and timely delivery of cargoes.

Lina-owned LGC Logistics is offering a one-stop-shop of sorts to ecozone locators in the Calabarzon area with the full

commercial operations of its inland container depot and clear cargoes in approximately one day.

LGc opens first cy/cFS in PeZa

Marina Administrator Vicente Suazo explained that the ship breaking and ship retirement are relative to the grow-ing ship building industry in the coun-try.He revealed that they are now in the

process of preparing for a presentation before the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) on how ship breaking activity will be conducted in order to obtain environmental clear-ance certificate.Shipbreaking activity will also open

windows for new business opportuni-ties in the ship repair and sale of scraps. Shipowners who wish to scrap their old ships may find yet another economic ac-tivity supportive of ship repair because of the recyclable materials.Experts said the recycled steel plates

can be utilized for ship repair while en-gines can be remanufactured or rebuilt.Marina is bent on creating the ship

breaking industry through discussion with agencies concerned and stakehold-ers.Suazo maintained that they will en-

force the phasing out of old vessels by the middle of 2008.The Marina board is currently studying

the implementation of the vessel retire-ment program especially for those older vessels but is still capable of plying.

“We may think of ways like the possi-bility of transferring the old vessels in unserved routes,” he said.The number of years of the vessel sub-

ject for retirement is still being studied very carefully, he furthered.“In order to boost the shipbuilding in-

dustry we have to do simultaneous pro-grams such as ship breaking and ship retirement,” Suazo said adding that the president’s executive order mandated the Marina and other concerned agen-cies to have a comprehensive shipbuild-ing plan.Marina wanted to fully develop the

country’s shipyards capable of building passenger and cargo vessels.The Department of Transportation and

Communication (DOTC) urged the pri-vate sector to reactivate the country’s steel industry to support Marina’s move in strengthening the shipbuilding in-dustry.The availability of domestically pro-

duced steel plates can support the pri-mary requirements in ship construction and maintenance.The government, said Suazo, is pres-

ently helping shipyards through bulk sale of steel plates.“Through bulk purchase of imported

steels, the shipyards can buy [materials] at a cheaper cost,” Suazo concluded.

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She added that the facility specifically ad-dresses such needs and complement other PEZA projects such as the electronic im-port permit system, all aimed to facilitate transactions at a lower cost.“PEZA always support project that will

reduce cost and with this facility, it is one major step to reduce further the cost of do-ing business in the country,” De Lima said.The facility, on the other hand, has cold

storage area that can store zero degrees Celsius to –30 degrees and is equipped with thermohydrograph and a storage area that sits on a 500 square meters of prime space while the warehouse floor area is a vast 6,000 square meters.

The Facility, located 59-km away from the Manila International Container Port, 64-km away from North Harbor and an average of 15-km away from neighboring ecozones, also has a dock leveler that pro-vides easy access to palletized items with the use of forklifts or hand pallets and could easily be adjusted to any height; a scissor lift that provides 100% 0-degree plane transfer of items from containers or trucks to the warehouse floor; a built-in ramp that pro-vides flexibility in loading and unloading small shipments off-dock; and a 24/7 se-curity guards plus eight (8) units of CCTV surveillance cameras strategically located to ensure safety of cargoes.

STar BOarD1� February–March 2008

The Club also reported that they will be renting a boarding house for their cadets currently commencing OJT at Herma Shipyard in Mariveles, Bataan.The Propeller Club of Manila has been

faithful to its Scholarship Program since the early 1990s. It is sponsoring a single student from an underprivileged family at Don Bosco Technical School, Makati. Since that time the program has grown ap-preciably and by 2005 the club was spon-soring 10 students at Don Bosco.

In 2005, the Club considered increasing the number of scholars and enhancing the program so that it would ensure the employability of the scholars once they graduated. Currently, the club is support-ing 130 students and still recruiting for 25 more starting January 2008. The Propeller Club of Manila, through

the support of the Salvation Army of Aus-tralia and AUSAID have enhanced the program and established the Vocational Training Program.

Among those inducted for the Western Visayas chapter were Dr. Terry Sarabia of St. Therese College Iloilo as chapter presi-dent, Director Armi Arcilla of Maritime Industry Authority as vice president, Di-rector Arlene Dalawis of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources as secretary, Dr. Geneva Eler of John B. Lacson Foundation Maritime University – Arevalo as Treasurer, and Ms. Marne Halanes from the Overseas Workers’ Wel-fare Administration as Auditor. The officers and 21 members coming from

the different provinces of the Western Vi-sayas and representing both the govern-ment and private sectors, were inducted at the St. Therese College-MTC in Molo, Iloilo on January 31, 2008.On the other hand, the NCR chapter was

organized on February 26, 2008. It has for its president Lilian Javier from PPA, vice president, secretary, treasurer, Public Re-lations Officer Ms. Siony Flores from PPA,

and Media Relations Officer Zenaida P. Magnial from Harborscope,. The first elected president of the local

chapter, Dr. Sarabia, expressed gratitude for having been elected to the post and vowed to commit her self to meet the ex-pectations of their members and of the WIMAPHIL national office as well.As for her NCR counterpart, Ms. Ja-

vier vowed to be vigilant and active in the advocates of the women in mari-time. According to PTC president Ms. Carla

Limcaoco, the WIMAPHIL National Of-fice expects them to abide by the frame-work under which WIMAPHIL was estab-lished and to jointly pursue the directions provided to them by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) and the general membership since the Association has been created to serve its members.Ms. Limcaoco likewise, exhorted Ms. Ja-

vier to start inviting people from different

cities in the Metro to start the establish-ment of NCR municipal chapters. The WIMAPHIL national president re-

ported that the Western Visayas regional chapter is now in the process of finalizing their initiatives on the prevention of HIV/AIDS, illegal trafficking of women and children, maritime pollution, safety at sea, as well as concerns related to the wives of seafarers. The NCR, on the other hand, will start

scheduling their weekly meetings and plan their priority activities.She added that the first regional chapters

will also be establishing municipal chap-ters in Bacolod and Antique provinces, and likewise, in the Metro Manila. “I trust that they will follow our objectives of un-dertaking and advocacies geared towards that direction. I am confident that they can live up to the ideals of WIMAPHIL,” Ms. Limcaoco assured. Nevertheless, the national president

lauded the first sets of officers and mem-bers of the Western Visayas and NCR chapters. “On behalf of the National Office of the

Women in Maritime Philippines Asso-ciation, I would like to congratulate the officers and members of the Western Vi-sayas Regional chapter and NCR on hav-

ing successfully launched WIMAPHIL’s first local chapters. We are confident that thru your efforts, the women in your re-gion will become actively involved in the advocacies related to safety and preven-tion of pollution of sea, prevention of HIV/AIDS and other maritime issues which are relevant in the environment that we live in today. We wish you all the best in your future endeavors and more power to you!”

WIMAPHIL is created to promote the active participation of women in the over-all development of the maritime industry. Its adviser is none other than the IMO Re-gional Presence for East Asia, Atty. Brenda Pimentel. The officers and members of the Board of Trustees were inducted by UN Resident Coordinator Nileema Noble on July 31, 2007.

The Women in Maritime Philippines (WIMAPHIL) Association continues to grow to promote their advocacies

when it recently launched its very first local chapter in Iloilo City, Western Visayas and the National Capital Region (NRC) respectively, on different occasions, and inducted their first sets of officers as well.

Women in Maritime

Wimaphil establishes WV, Ncr chapters

Calling all members of the Propeller Club of Manila! The Club has found a boarding unit in Sta. Ana, Manila to house its scholars coming from the provinces. The said

boarding house is completely bare. Hence, the club wishes to solicit donations from the members for any household items like kitchen utensils, furniture, or paintings, or anything that might be useful to their students.

Boarding house for scholars identifiedPropeller Club – Port of Manila seeks support from members

Much like the previous years, the Propel-ler Club scholars are enrolled in a one year Fitter Machinist (Ship Mechanic) Course which was set up several years ago by Stolt Nielsen Transport Group. The difference can be seen in 3 key areas: The Club invited applicants and recruited

scholars on the basis of a mechanical ap-titude test, an English Test and a Medical Exam. From there, scholars were inter-viewed along with their parents/guardians to assess their willingness to undergo the program and ensure that they would pur-sue the course. The second key difference is that scholars

undergo a special English class. They are taught for 4 hours every Saturday by Alan Atkins an Australian English teacher. The goal is to get their English speaking, writing and listening abilities to a level 6 on IELTS. Last but not the least, the scholars are

now diligently monitored and provided

supplementary trainings and activities that would help motivate them and de-velop well-rounded personalities. In the 1st semester, these included HIV-AIDS Awareness Training, a museum tour and a Yacht Trip around Manila Bay.For more details about the club, you can

visit their website at www.propellermanila.org The Club usually meets every third Wednesday of the month at the Manila Club near corner Evangelista Street, Bgy. Bangkal, Makati City. Their third luncheon meeting is on the 26th of March 2008.Everyone in the maritime industry is wel-

come to join the Propeller Club – Port of Manila. They can send their applications to Mr. David Reynolds, Club President, c/o Inter-Asia Marine Transport, Inc. 3rd Flr. Raha Sulayman Bldg., 108 Benavidez Street Legaspi Village, Makati City, Philip-pines or send email to propclub@virtual-asia.com.

Triumphant King Corporation Under New Management Having established Triumphant King corporation as a pro-active provider of quality seafarers to man foreign-owned vessels, we now strive for excellence in this chosen field by improving our professional services to our principals. Our increased dedication hopes to contribute to our mutual growth and development, thus, creating a lasting and mutually beneficial relationship.We have carved a niche for ourselves by providing quality manning services to our foreign principals. Our foreign partners are assured that we shall continually strive to improve our services, observe the principles of business ethics, and incorporate new trends in the industry.Our strict adherence to the processes and procedures described in our Quality Manual assures our continued success.

arsenio S. ambataliPresident and General Manager

15STar BOarD February–March 2008

HarBorSCoPE is a bi-monthly publication of Harborscope, inc. with editorial and business offices at room 502 FeMi Building, andres Soriano Street, intramuros, Manila. Please address all correspondence to harborscope@yahoo.com. Our telephone numbers are (+�32) �8�–8�85 and (+�32) �00–����. advertising materials can be sent to harborscope.mktg@yahoo.com and harborscope@gmail.com.

Wilton M. VenusPresident

Jun G. GarciaManaging editor

ronald B. Escanlar | Pabrika imageryart Direction

Zenaida P. MagnialMarketing Director

Jaypee S. Padillacirculation Manager

COPYRIGHT © 2008. HARBORSCOPE, INC.ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

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Empowering Maritime Entrepreneurs

Empowering Maritime Entrepreneurs

Allow us to first thank you for your continued support and for trusting our humble yet noble objective of em-

powering maritime entrepreneurs.It is the very reason of our existence. It is for this noble cause that makes us

endure the birth pains of publishing a medium of business promotion and communication.Your unremitting patronage to Harborscope serves as an inspiration for us

to sustain our credo – to be the medium of good report and business develop-ment, trends, markets, and prospects.Like our colleagues in the maritime beat, we share the same belief that you,

our dear readers, are of paramount importance to us. Hence, we encourage you to tell us how we can serve you best. Because we want to join you in your clamor to promote the best practices essential to the growth of the Philippine maritime industry.May I commend first, the John B. Lacson Foundation Maritime Universi-

ty for initiating their first international maritime conference with a theme, “Sharing Best Practices in Maritime Education and Training to Meet World Shipping Needs” last January 29-30.This initiative is a great contribution to the industry since our key leaders

are working very hard to meet the demands of the stakeholders. They cannot do it alone. Our seafarers need to be educated and trained in a manner ac-ceptable to the shipowners. The Philippine Association of Maritime Training Centers, Inc. has also con-

ducted a forum on “Best Practices in Maritime Training” with Executive Di-rector Teresita T. Laurel gracing the event on February 28. They have invited Capt. Luis G. Evidente of John B. Lacson Foundation

Maritime University, Engr. Romeo S. Piccio of Magsaysay Training Center, Mr. Subir Mukerji of TUV-SUD-PSB Philippines and Capt. Felicito C. Qui-mpo, Jr. of Bureau Veritas Certification, to share the best practices needed to ensure quality maritime education and training to our officers and ratings.The recently inaugurated K-Line Maritime Academy Philippines had also

given their fair share to the industry. They have invested millions of dollars-worth of training facilities (especially the Kawasaki-MAN B&W 2S50MCC main ship engine) for the upgrading of skills of ship officers. Free comprehen-sive trainings are even offered to seafarers who wish to join K-Line through Ventis Maritime Corporation.The Phil-Japan Manning Consultative Council, Inc. has just conducted its

convention to uphold the interest of manning agents and the Filipino seafar-ers servicing the Japanese maritime industry.The Women in Maritime Philippines headed by Ms. Carla Limcaoco is

also advocating for best practices professional women in the maritime trade should observe in order to put forward notable undertakings the industry is carrying out at present.The LGC Logistics has also recently invested millions for its first container

yard/container freight station (CY-CFS) for the Philippine Economic Zone Authority to ensure safe and on-time delivery of goods in the logistics sec-tor. The Philippine Ports Authority is continuously and has partnered with the

Bureau of Customs to fight smuggling and ensure prosperous growth in our ports.The Maritime Industry Authority has been silently working with all dili-

gence to promote and protect the industry as well.These are only some of the reported initiatives undertaken by our industry

leaders that should be recognized. There are still many initiatives being done in silence but all headway to promote the Philippine Maritime Industry in general. If there are many more best practices, anything virtuous, lovely, of good

report, and praise-worthy, we seek after these things. Hence, the new slogan of Harborscope – “Empowering Maritime Entre-

preneurs” through best practices endeavored to meet the expectations of the world maritime fleet.

Jun G. GArCIAManaging EditorHarborscope

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FLeeT STreeT1� February–March 2008

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The colorful Iloilo Paraw Regatta, celebrated annually in a festive and climactic fashion, has gone a long way

from being a local entertainment fair to cheer balikbayans (homecoming Filipinos) and local folks to promoting energy conservation among fishermen, who are braving the 30-kilometer race course with only the year round breeze of Iloilo Strait propelling them to the coasts of Panay and Guimaras and back to the finish at the Villa beach in Arevalo, Iloilo City.

‘Making a name, sailing high’

iloilo Paraw regatta continues to sail at 3�

For 36 years now, the Iloilo Paraw Regatta has grown to be the largest sailing event in the Philippines and the oldest traditional craft event in Asia. This year’s event continues to draw the interests of the world, with local and international media covering the event, and tens of thousands of foreign and local tourists witnessing the vibrant activities by the beach of Villa.

Initiated by the Department of Tourism Re-gion VI (DOT 6) along with the Iloilo Paraw Regatta Foundation, Inc., the event is also sup-ported by the Iloilo City government, the Iloilo PNP and PCG, and nearby provincial govern-

ments, and private sectors like the famous Tatoy’s Manukan and Seafood Restaurant and the finest John B. Lacson Foundation Maritime University, among others.

DOT VI Director Mr. Edwin G. Trompeta said the objective of the Iloilo Paraw Regatta is to display and uphold the skills of paraw sail-ors in a celebrated manner for promoting the continued use of paraw – a native double out-

rigger sailboat that has been in existence only God knows when and for how long – for their transportation and source of livelihood; thus, sparing the Iloilo strait from the hazards of oil pollution while also sparing them from the high cost of fuel.

Thanks to the geophysical shape of the Iloilo Strait that provides breezes all throughout the year making paraw the dominant working sail-boats in the province.

“The Iloilo Paraw Regatta, celebrated every February, is an event for any seaworthy paraw that is solely dependent on wind for its power and/or motion,” explained Mr. Trompeta.

“Its crew should be a minimum of two. Ad-ditional crew members are allowed provided that the numbers will still be the same from the start of the race up to the finish. These are good fishermen. They can really swim,” he added.

Another exciting event is the Iloilo Paraw Sla-lom – a competition that enhances the seaman-ship of the crew in handling and maneuvering the paraw under all wind and wave conditions in a preset race course. This event offers a breath-taking excitement to both participants and spectators.

The week-long festivity, which started as a half-day sailboat race years ago, is now a multi-faceted festival with side entertainments and competitions such as the remarkable search for Ms. Iloilo Paraw Regatta 2008; the eye-catching Pinta Layag Competition – a painting contest with the sails – a woven matting or stitched syn-thetic awning material as the artists’ canvass; the admiring Pinta Tawo Competition – a body painting competition; fun-filled Beach volley-ball – which is now on its fifth year participated by Iloilo’s finest colleges and universities; and the competitive Beach Football tournament.

One of the best attractions of the Iloilo Pa-raw Regatta festival is the “Samba de Regatta” – a music and Mardi Gras Competition that provides exhilarating and colorful spectacles to the crowd who are waiting for the winners of the sailboat race at the beach. The Samba eventually became the vehicle for the city-wide awareness of the Paraw Regatta Festival.

Other events include mini-paraw sailing, rowing and paddling competition, and bottom fishing, among others.

True enough with this year’s theme “Making a Name, Sailing High!”, the 2008 Iloilo Paraw Regatta has indeed carved a name for itself with the colorful sails of paraws standing proudly against the breezes and tides that say it will last forever, and with the seasoned seamanship of sailors contributing to the success of the event which gives the world an impression that Fili-pinos indeed are the best sailors on this planet.

Filipino boats and seamenshipBy Jonathan Grant

Since time immemorial, boats and sea-faring skills were fundamental to Philip-pine society. indeed, the word barangay originally meant a large boat; at 20-25 meters length, the materials and con-struction skills could only be managed by a sizeable community. these boats were not hallowed out logs. rather, each full-length plank was carved to a curved shape to precisely meet the edge of the adjacent plank, and eventually make up the hull. No nails. No stress bending.

and the warrior version of these large boats, called the caracao, determined not only the community’s defenses, but also its power. The effectiveness of this Philippine boats needs to be recalled. Downwind they could sail three times as fast as a chinese junk or Spanish galleon, and, with some 80 paddlers and oarsmen, outmaneuver them in light air. Way back in the late 1100’s, Governor Wang Ta-yu of Fukien province, china, was an eye-wit-ness to raids by caracao from the Visayas. centuries later, when the Spanish came with superior arms to conquer the Philip-pines, they quickly realized the inferiority of their galleon ships for operating in the strong currents and shallow reefs of local waters. in the 15�0’s Legazpi himself used Philippine made and manned boats to ex-plore the Visayas. in the 1�th century, the Spanish built whole fleets of caracao to counter the Moro Filipino quest for control in the Visayas.

as Father Francisco combes wrote at the time, “the care and technique with which they build them makes their ships sail like birds, while ours are like lead in compari-son.” No galleons participated.

a plethora of smaller boats constituted the mainstay of community life. as virtual-ly the only form of transportation, all com-mercial and political contacts depended on them. Both chinese and Spanish re-cords portray a vibrant life of continual movements of rice, sweet potato, banan-as, coconuts, fish, game, salt, and cloth between coastal barrios – to say nothing of iron, gold, jewelry and porcelain.

indeed, Filipino seamanship, along with craftsmanship, was acknowledge by the colonial regime by paying them four to five times the basic wage, and even higher for Visayan mariners. Laws of navigation and commerce promulgated in 1�20 assumed that any Filipino born along the seacoast had the skills to be qualified as a seaman on government vessels. Galleons sailed with equal numbers of Filipinos and Span-ish by then, and 1�20 Filipinos outnum-bered them two to one. By the 18th centu-ry, Filipinos had won such a reputation for mariner’s skills there was hardly a ship in europe that did not have some on board. By the 1�th century, Filipino seamen had become prevalent abroad that other colo-nial regimes imposed restrictions on their employment.

The paraw is the precursor of this grand sailing tradition. The ilonggos celebrate this heritage through the annual Paraw regatta festivities, a celebration of the region’s history, culture and lifestyle.

By JuN G. Garcia

Dot Vi Director Mr. Edwin G. trompeta (r) awards the regatta winners.