The Maritime Industry Authority (MARINA) refreshed the knowledge and skills of their technical personnel on tonnage measurement of ships during the two-day virtual training on 23 – 24 November 2023.
The MARINA through its Shipyards Regulation Service (SRS) in coordination with the American Bureau of Shipping (ABS) hosted the Two-Day Virtual Refresher Training Course on Tonnage Measurement of Ships which was attended by the technical personnel from SRS, Maritime Safety Service (MSS), Enforcement Service (ES) and MARINA Regional Offices (MROs).
In his opening remark, SRS NAMED Division Chief Engr. Ernesto Caluza congratulated the participants for the new learnings that they eventually acquired in the said event. He also described the virtual training as challenging while having fun on solving different scenarios related to tonnage measurement of ships.
MARINA Deputy Administrator for Operations Engr. Nannette Villamor-Dinopol provided a short background on the purpose of tonnage in the shipping industry. She also reiterated that the training is related to the effective implementation of the Maritime Industry Development Plan (MIDP) 2028 which covers the Program on Modernization, Expansion and Promotion of the Philippine Shipbuilding and Ship Repair Industry that states the support of MARINA on the passage of the SBSR Bill. Engr. Dinopol added that the enactment of the SBSR Bill is important since it would pave the way for the country’s global competitiveness on SBSR industry and also to promote jobs and technical personnel especially naval architects.
The said training focused on various topics which include the history of tonnage measurement of ships, standard for the tonnage measurement of ships, tonnage measurement and calculation, and the TMS Forms and Certificates which were discussed by Mr. Jeffry Djakaria, Principal Engineer at ABS Singapore Ship / Offshore Engineering Department within Global Engineering Division of the American Bureau of Shipping and the ABS – Manila Principal Surveyor Mr. Saturnino Babao.
SRS and Marine Environment Protection Development Service (MEPDS) Director Engr. Ramon Hernandez who delivered the closing remark believes that the experiences and learnings in the virtual training would be crucial for the MARINA technical personnel in performing their respective duties and responsibilities. He also talked about the possibility of conducting the “Peer Review of the Philippine Shipbuilding Industry” which was raised during the 137th OECD Council Working Party on Shipbuilding (C-WP6) Meeting in Paris France on 22 November 2023.