In order to ensure maritime safety at all times and prevent maritime accidents/incidents in the country, a total of 160 MARINA personnel participated in the Maritime Safety Focus Group Discussion at Prince Hotel, Manila on 21-23 August 2024.

The event aims to check the capabilities of technical personnel and ensure a uniform understanding of the standards, rules, regulations, procedures, and guidelines that govern the conduct of inspection and survey of Philippine domestic ships. During the FGD, the participants were divided into 12 groups to identify all possible causes of accidents/incidents. They also identified measures in preventing accidents/incidents such as listing/capsizing/sinking; fire/explosion; grounding; man overboard, occupational accident; and ramming/collision/allision.

The Maritime Safety FGD outputs will be subjected to further discussion to identify responsibilities that will be specified in the Action Plan.

In her speech, MARINA Administrator Sonia Malaluan encouraged the participants to be open to new ideas, especially in discussing measures to enhance maritime safety. She reiterated that safety is non-negotiable and it is the utmost priority. Malaluan also emphasized the importance of recognizing the problem to focus on measures to address the same. The Administrator also highlighted the critical and primary responsibilities and accountabilities of MARINA surveyors/inspectors in ensuring the safety of life and property at sea. She also emphasized the need to perform their tasks with unquestionable integrity, competence, due diligence, and professionalism.

Meanwhile, MARINA Deputy Administrator for Operations Nannette Z. Villamor-Dinopol highlighted that maritime safety is a shared responsibility. She was impressed by the depth of discussion that reflected the seriousness and painful reality of approaching the safety of maritime operations. She also mentioned the critical role of both government and private sector in upholding the standards that ensure the safety and integrity of vessels and maritime operations.

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