Question & AnswerQ&A (MIA MARINA Circular No. 2015-02)
The primary objective is to foster the safe operation of Philippine-registered ships, enhance safety of life and property at sea, protect the marine environment, implement AIS on domestic ships, and promote safe navigation through timely exchange of relevant ship data.
Passenger ships of 300 Gross Tons (GT) and above, and cargo ships of 500 GT and above are covered under this Circular.
AIS is defined as an automatic tracking system used on ships and by vessel traffic services for identifying and locating vessels by electronically exchanging data with other nearby ships, AIS base stations, and satellites.
The 'Company' refers to the owner of the ship or any organization or person such as the manager or bareboat charterer who has assumed responsibility for the operation of the ship and agreed to take over all duties under this Circular.
Newly acquired ships must be equipped with Class A AIS before being allowed to operate domestically, while existing ships covered must install Class A AIS within six months from the Circular's effectivity date.
The AIS must automatically provide ship information such as identity, type, position, course, and speed to properly equipped ships and receive similar information from other AIS-equipped ships.
Ships operating without or with non-functional AIS will be placed under a 'no sail' condition and penalized with administrative fines (P40,000 for cargo ships, P50,000 for passenger ships) and suspension of the ship safety certificate until compliance.
AIS may be switched off if its continual operation compromises the safety or security of the vessel or if a security incident is imminent. Such action must be recorded in the ship's logbook and AIS must be reactivated as soon as the threat is mitigated.
Cargo ships 500 GT and above are fined P40,000 and passenger ships 300 GT and above are fined P50,000, both subject to suspension of their Safety Certificates until they comply.
The Circular took effect fifteen (15) days after its publication in a newspaper of general circulation, with the exact effectivity date depending on the publication date.
Any provision of previous MARINA Memorandum Circulars, rules, or regulations inconsistent with this Circular are amended or modified accordingly to conform to the new rules.
If any provision of the Circular is declared invalid or unconstitutional by a competent authority, the remaining provisions shall continue to be valid and effective.