Legal basis and governing framework
- The Circular is issued pursuant to P.D. 474, Sec. 12(e).
- The Circular is issued pursuant to E.O. No. 125, Sec. 12(e) as amended.
- The Circular is issued pursuant to R.A. No. 9295, Chap. III, Sec. 9.
- The Circular is issued pursuant to PMMRR 97, Reg. 1/8 as amended.
Policy objective and safety coverage
- The Circular requires accreditation to ensure that life-saving, fire-fighting, communications and navigation appliances and equipment used on board Philippine-registered domestic ships meet required standards.
- The accreditation system is designed to foster safety of life at sea and marine environment protection.
- The Circular governs safety-related appliances and equipment used on-board Philippine-registered domestic ships and also governs those offered for use on such ships.
- The Circular operationalizes safety through accreditation of manufacturers, suppliers, and servicing entities, plus MARINA oversight and inspections.
Who must comply and what is covered
- The Circular applies to all companies/entities duly organized under existing Philippine laws that engage in manufacturing, supplying, and/or servicing life-saving and other safety-related appliances/equipment.
- The Circular covers companies/entities that supply and/or service safety-related appliances/equipment and related supplies/materials for use on board Philippine-registered domestic ships.
- The Circular covers domestic shipowners/operators/charterers of Philippine-registered ships that use required safety-related appliances/equipment on board.
- The Circular covers safety-related appliances/equipment for life-saving, fire-fighting, communications, navigation, and related supplies/materials used on domestic ships.
Accreditation rule: authority, approvals, and use
- Upon effectivity, all covered companies/entities that manufacture, supply, and/or service covered appliances/equipment must apply for accreditation with the Maritime Industry Authority (MARINA), Maritime Safety Office.
- Only MARINA-accredited companies/entities are authorized to engage in and transact business as manufacturers, suppliers and/or servicing entities of life-saving, fire-fighting, communications, and/or navigation appliances/equipment for Philippine-registered domestic ships.
- Accredited manufacturers must have their product type-approved by a recognized classification society, their equivalents, or other competent bodies recognized by MARINA, including SOPI, DOST, DTI, Bureau of Product Standards, NTC.
- Accredited manufacturing approvals are preceded by a design approval for each appliance/equipment to be manufactured, followed by prototype production, then testing in the presence of an authorized surveyor.
- Prototype testing must follow universally accepted procedures such as those following the ISO system or its equivalents, or those recommended by the LSA Code.
- Each appliance/equipment type-approved/approved for manufacture must bear a mark of approval and other required details, including standard/quality type and an expiry date if applicable.
- Where more practicable, MARINA may grant approval/type-approval for alternative or equivalent safety-related appliances/equipment, as provided in MARINA M.C. No. 197.
- Suppliers of imported safety-related appliances/equipment must offer in the market only items manufactured with type approval by class societies or their equivalents, supported by the required documentation/certification.
- Suppliers must secure clearance from MARINA before offering imported safety-related appliances/equipment in the market after verification of type-approval/documentation, or testing where warranted.
- Servicing entities must adhere to class-approved procedures, or an ISO-compliant system or equivalent, supported by duly trained and competent service technicians/engineers, and must be authorized by the original manufacturers of the appliances/equipment.
- Shipowners/operators/charterers must ensure that safety-related appliances/equipment on board are manufactured, supplied, and serviced by MARINA-accredited companies/entities.
- MARINA may conduct spot inspections/audits of accredited companies/entities’ facilities and operations and may conduct random testing of manufactured products.
Application requirements and MARINA evaluation process
- Applications must be submitted by letter application requesting verification/inspection of the applicant’s office/laboratory facilities, equipment, and personnel.
- Applicants must submit SEC Registration Certificate and Articles of Incorporation, and BOI Accreditation/BDT-DTI Registration, and a Mayor’s Permit.
- Applicants must submit a list of officers and key personnel with their bio-data and credentials.
- Applicants must submit a list of facilities and equipment owned/operated by the applicant company/entity.
- For accreditation as manufacturers, applicants must submit the original copy of ISO certification or its equivalent, or proof of having applied for certification showing it is under process (only for initial application).
- For accreditation as suppliers, applicants must submit a list and details of the appliances/equipment to be marketed with corresponding documentation for each’s type-approval/approval, and proof of sole distributorship for imported items when applicable.
- For accreditation as servicing entities, applicants must submit a list of appliances/equipment to be serviced, each with manufacturer authorizations to service, copies of the corresponding servicing procedures/systems with the corresponding class approval or ISO certification, and a list of employed service technicians/engineers with proof of training and credentials.
- Applicants must provide other requirements that MARINA may subsequently deem necessary.
- For renewal applications, the applicant must submit a report on appliances/equipment manufactured, serviced and/or sold as an additional documentary requirement.
- MARINA’s evaluation includes verification/inspection by a MARINA inspector of the applicant’s office/laboratory facilities, equipment, personnel, and implementation of a quality assurance system.
- MARINA must issue an Inspection Report inclusive of Findings and Recommendations, which forms part of the requirements to be evaluated.
Certificate validity and posting
- MARINA issues a Certificate of Accreditation valid for one (1) year, renewable every year thereafter.
- MARINA may issue a provisional Certificate of Accreditation valid for six (6) months when the required quality assurance system is pending approval/certification.
- Any violation of conditions, requirements, and standards imposed by MARINA for accredited companies/entities is a basis for withdrawal of accreditation, after due process.
- MARINA posts the list of MARINA-accredited entities on its website and updates it periodically for guidance of concerned parties.
Fees, charges, type approval, and inspection
- The Circular imposes the following processing fees and accreditation certificate fees for new and renewal applications:
- Manufacturer: Processing Fee PHP 2,000.00; Accreditation Certificate PHP 10,000.00.
- Supplier: Processing Fee PHP 1,500.00; Accreditation Certificate PHP 5,000.00.
- Servicing Entity: Processing Fee PHP 2,000.00; Accreditation Certificate PHP 10,000.00.
- Combination of Manufacturer/Supplier/Servicing Entity: Processing Fee PHP 2,500.00; Accreditation Certificate PHP 15,000.00.
- The Circular requires the following additional charges:
- Type Approval (inclusive of Design Approval & Prototype Testing): PHP 10,000.00.
- Quality Systems Approval: PHP 10,000.00.
- Inspection Fee: PHP 5,000.00.
- The Inspection Fee of PHP 5,000.00 is charged only for Manufacturers, Servicing Entities, or their combination, in cases where their facilities, equipment and systems/procedures have not been inspected and certified by other recognized competent bodies that issued the type-approval/approval.
Penalties for non-accreditation and ship non-compliance
- Companies/entities that engage in or transact business to manufacture, service, and/or supply covered safety-related appliances/equipment without valid MARINA accreditation must, after due process, pay:
- First offense: PHP 50,000.00
- Second offense: PHP 75,000.00
- Third and succeeding offense: PHP 100,000.00
- Domestic shipowners/operators/charterers found using on-board safety-related equipment/appliances that are not approved/type-approved or are not manufactured, supplied and/or serviced by MARINA-accredited companies/entities must, after due process, cause:
- Suspension of the affected ship’s operation until the appliance/equipment is replaced with another that is approved by MARINA.
- The same ship non-compliance exposure includes payment of a penalty not to exceed PHP 100,000.00.
Renewal of existing accreditation and transitory operations
- Companies/entities covered by the Circular that already have valid and subsisting accreditation from other government agencies, such as the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG), must apply for re-accreditation with MARINA upon effectivity of the Circular.
- Safety-related appliances/equipment already used on domestic ships prior to effectivity must be checked and approved by MARINA inspectors from the concerned MARINA Maritime Regional Office.
- After effectivity, safety-related appliances/equipment directly imported by domestic shipowners/operators must first be inspected for verification whether type-approved or not, or inspected and tested, then approved by MARINA if not type-approved.