Question & AnswerQ&A (MARINA MEMORANDUM CIRCULAR NO. 184)
The circular applies to Philippine-registered tankers/barges plying in domestic trade carrying more than 2,000 tons or 2,000 tons and below of persistent oil in bulk as cargo.
Persistent oils are those which, due to their chemical composition, are slow to dissipate naturally when spilled into the marine environment and likely to spread and require cleaning up, such as crude oil, fuel oil, heavy diesel oil, and lubricating oil.
Non-persistent oils tend to evaporate quickly when spilled and do not require cleaning up, including gasoline, light diesel oil, and kerosene.
For tankers/barges not exceeding 5,000 gross tons, the minimum coverage is 3 million Special Drawing Rights (SDR). For those above 5,000 gross tons, it is 3 million SDR plus an additional 420 SDR per ton in excess of 5,000 GT.
Coverage ranges from 1 million SDR for vessels 250 GT or less, up to 2.5 million SDR for vessels with more than 750 to 1,000 GT, with specific amounts set for categories in between.
Acceptable securities include insurance cover, bank guarantees, certificates delivered by an international compensation fund, and other similar securities.
Penalties include fines ranging from P30,000 to P300,000, suspension of Certificate of Public Convenience (CPC)/Provisional Authority (PA)/Special Permit (SP), and potential cancellation of these licenses for repeated violations.
A penalty of P100,000 applies for submitting false or fraudulent documents.
Yes, the certificate issuance involves a processing fee of P1,200.
It took effect immediately after its publication once in a newspaper of general circulation in the Philippines, following its adoption on February 21, 2003.