Amended Guidelines on Vessel Acquisition for Domestic Trade

Applies to all persons, corporations, firms, and entities acquiring vessels for domestic trade.
Excludes fishing vessels and tankers, which are regulated by separate memoranda.

Acquisition: importation, bareboat charter, lease-purchase, lease-irrevocable purchase, local construction for vessel use as public utility.
Domestic Trade: carriage of passengers or cargo for hire between Philippine ports.
Vessel: any watercraft capable of floating and self/externally propelled.
Conversion: includes major modifications such as re-engining, hull lengthening, deck construction, superstructure changes, bulkhead alterations.
Age: from vessel launching date to acquisition date.
Motor Yacht: small craft for pleasure tourism or commerce.
Tugboat: small, mechanically propelled vessel used for towing/pushing assistance.
Lighter: non-propelled dumb barge.
Barge: flat-bottomed craft for bulky freight transportation.
Tankers: vessels designed for bulk liquid cargo, with subdivided compartments.

Vessels of any age and size allowed for importation, charter, lease-purchase, except wooden-hulled vessels which are allowed only for local construction.
Domestic shipping companies/operators must be accredited under MARINA rules.

All vessels must be classed by an international or government-recognized classification society.
Exceptions: tugboats, lighters, motor yachts for personal use, wooden-hulled vessels.
Vessels must maintain classification throughout operation; class survey reports submitted periodically.

Passenger vessels must have compulsory insurance coverage of P50,000 per passenger.
Tankers/barges carrying petroleum must secure Protection and Indemnity (P&I) insurance covering pollution liability, with minimum amounts depending on capacity.
Chemical/LPG/LNG tankers must have third-party liability insurance of at least US$2 million from recognized insurers or P&I clubs.

Vessels (except tugboats and lighters) must obtain Provisional Authority (PA) or Certificate of Public Convenience (CPC) from MARINA before engaging in inter-island operations.

MARINA Memorandum Circular Nos. 17, 22, 25, and 25-D are repealed.
Guidelines for meritorious inter-island shipping projects under Circular No. 25-D are revoked.

Circular takes effect 15 days after publication in a newspaper of general circulation in the Philippines.