Phl elected to maritime organization

MANILA, Philippines - The Philippines has been elected to the Steering Group of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) tasked to reduce the administrative burdens imposed on ship owners, seafarers and governments, the Philippine embassy in London reported to the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA).

The shipping sector is regulated by the IMO to ensure maritime safety and the protection of the marine environment. In carrying out its responsibility, IMO requires periodic reporting and attainment of standards in the operation of merchant ships.

The Steering Group will identify which reports and requirements of IMO could be simplified or reduced in order to allow seafarers and ship owners to concentrate on the technical tasks of transporting 90 percent of global trade rather than complying with bureaucratic requirements.

To ensure the widest consultation possible, Philippine Ambassador to the United Kingdom and concurrent Permanent Representative to the IMO Enrique Manalo urged Philippine seafarers’ unions and Filipino shipowners to volunteer information on how to reduce the bureaucratic burdens imposed on seafarers.

Any comments or contributions from ship owners, seafarers, and their associations may be sent to the DFA’s Ocean Concerns Office or the Philippine embassy in London [email protected].

The Steering Group was convened at the IMO headquarters last Sept. 4 with Kees Polderman of the Netherlands elected as its chairman.

Minister Francisco Noel Fernandez III of the Philippine embassy in London was appointed by the IMO Secretary General to the Steering Group, together with 18 other selected government and industry representatives.