Ships flying RP flag down 30% over last three years

The number of ships flying the Philippine flag is dwindling giving Filipino sailors lesser opportunity for employment.

This according to the Maritime Industry Authority (Marina) which also said that the country’s ranking under the International Maritime Organizations (IMO) continues to slide the past three years.

Marina administrator Oscar Sevilla said that from a number of 400 ships of Philippine registry three years ago, it now stands at around 280 mainly due to the country’s restrictions on "bareboat chartering."

"This is one of the shipping policies we want to amend. At the moment if you want to enter into a bareboat charter in the Philippines you are required to have a ship of your own," Sevilla told The STAR in an earlier interview. "That is crazy if I have a ship why would I need to charter a ship."

Bareboat chartering is leasing an entire ship for a particular voyage or a period of time. Sevilla said the strict requirement for charterers to be ship owners too is killing the local ship chartering industry.

Sevilla explained that as such only a handful of businessmen could qualify for the Philippine bareboat chartering requirement since an ordinary ship is worth $3 million.

The Marina chief said having more Philippine ships on the seas also mean more employment opportunity for Filipinos due to the law that orders Philippine ships to give preference to Filipino sailors.

Under the IMO ranking the Philippines has slipped from number 12 from among its 186 members to number 16 last year and number 22 this year. Topping the list are Panama and Nigeria.

Sevilla is the country’s representative to the London-based IMO.

Sevilla said that he hopes that a board meeting set early in January will result in the amendment of several shipping policies damaging to the local shipping industry.