Question & AnswerQ&A (MIA MEMORANDUM CIRCULAR NO. 159, S. 2000)
The main objective is to foster a safety culture in domestic shipping operations by institutionalizing the adoption, implementation, and maintenance of a Safety Management System (SMS) by shipping companies to ensure personnel competence and high standards of safety and marine environment protection.
It applies to steel or wooden hulled domestic ships including passenger-carrying ships not required to be classed, tankers not required to be classed, bulk carriers not required to be classed, other cargo ships not required to be classed, and tugboats pulling or pushing non-propelled tanker barges carrying oil products.
Exempted ships include those covered by Memorandum Circular No. 143 such as passenger high speed crafts, passenger-carrying ships required or currently classed, oil tankers, chemical tankers, and gas carriers 500 gt and above, bulk carriers 500 gt and above required to be classed, fishing boats, non-propelled barges, sailing ships, pleasure crafts not engaged in commercial trading, government-owned ships not engaged in commercial trade, and naval warships.
A Company refers to the owner of the ship or any other organization or person such as the manager or bareboat charterer who has assumed responsibility for operation of the ship from the shipowner and agreed to take over all the duties and responsibilities imposed by the NSM Code.
Companies and ships must submit their Safety Management System (SMS) manuals and secure the Document of Compliance (DOC) and the Safety Management Certificate (SMC) according to the prescribed schedule by ship type and gross tonnage.
Penalties vary by ship size: for ships 250 gt and above, P50,000; 150 to 249.99 gt, P37,500; 50 to 149.99 gt, P25,000; 15 to 49.99 gt, P15,000; less than 15 gt, P5,000.
Fines include P10,000 for companies with ships 250 gt and above, reducing incrementally to P1,000 for companies with ships less than 15 gt, after due notice and hearing.
It takes effect fifteen (15) days after its publication in a newspaper of general circulation.
The fees for DOC range from P1,000 (short term) to P3,000 (full term), and for SMC, the fee is P1,000 for both short term and full-term certificates.
The ship will be detained by denying clearance to sail and will only be allowed to resume operation after complying with certification requirements as provided in the Guidelines to the Code.