Maritime Review (May-Jun 2017 Issue)
(click cover to download the magazine)
May 2017
NAVY 2020: Sailing on Track?
We join the Philippine Navy in celebrating its 119th Founding Anniversary in May this year and convey our warmest congratulations for being an active partner in the maritime community and an instrument of peace, progress and stability. With its well-conceived plan of governance but still faced with inadequate resources we are tempted to ask the question: Is it on track…
Is it time to create a Department for Maritime Affairs?
During the 120th Maritime Forum held at the Maritime Academy of Asia and the Pacific where we were once again awed by the progress and development of that excellent institution founded by AMOSUP Chairman Capt Greg Oca and nurtured by its President, VADM Eduardo Ma R Santos, I asked the Forum to remember former Senator Leticia R Shahani, likewise an…
A Rich Bank Without A Security Fence
Dear Editor, May I share with you my op-ed that appeared in BusinessWorld. It is about building credible deterrence to bring up our country to a state of readiness like all other self-respecting states that zealously protect their people and resources from a world fraught with risks and threats. —Rafael Alunan III The Philippines is like an extremely rich bank…
Understanding the Language of the Law of the Sea
With the disputes concerning the West Philippine Sea in the South China Sea and recently, the issues surrounding Benham Rise, we see how the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea or the Law of the Sea Convention (LOSC)1 affects the maritime entitlements of the Philippines. It is indeed imperative for the Philippine state, a maritime nation, to…
Mining, Destabilization, Benham – DON’T PANIC
PART I “DUTERTE: ‘MINING FIRMS FUNDING DESTABILIZATION PLOT.’ President Rodrigo Duterte on Monday accused some mining firms of financing what he called a ‘destabilization’ plot against his Administration.” Manila Times, 14-March-2017 During a presscon in Malacañang with Senate President Aquilino Pimentel III, and House Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez on 13-March-2017, President Rody Duterte said mining firms were funding the political opposition…
Perspectives on Naval Cooperation in Southeast Asia
The Southeast Asian region is situated in a unique strategic environment that is shaped by the Pacific maritime domain. It is home to maritime nations sitting astride vital sea lines of communication and trade in the Asia-Pacific, with vast water resources and minerals, and oil and gas reserves. Shipping traffic through Southeast Asia is several times greater than the traffic…
World’s Biggest Ever Maritime Drone Contract
Martek Marine (Martek) has been awarded a ground breaking 2-year Remotely Piloted Aircraft Services (RPAS) contract from the European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA). The services offered will fulfil part of the world’s largest ever maritime drone contract. Part of a five-year EMSA strategy of improving coast guard monitoring and surveillance of maritime activity valued at EUR 67 million, the service…
Protecting Blue Economy Requires Survey Vessel Investment
With investment into new, multi-role naval vessels and submarines increasing worldwide, and projections on the Blue Economy suggesting its worth at $2.4 trillion per year, now is an opportune moment to reflect on the utility of Oceanographic Survey Vessels (OSV) and other surveying capabilities. Ahead of this year’s OSV Conference on 21-22 June in London, UK, the Defence IQ undertook…
ICTSI Manila hits 2M TEU Milestone
The Manila International Container Terminal (MICT), International Container Terminal Services, Inc.’s (ICTSI) flagship operation and the Philippines’ largest, most technologically advanced container terminal, capped 2016 with a milestone as it reached its first year-to-date two millionth TEU move last December. Nominated among the world’s top container terminals for several years, the MICT has an annual capacity of 2.75 million twenty-foot…
PPA Revisits Ro-Ro Highway to Check Continued Viability for Trade, Tourism
The Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) is revisiting in 2017 its Roll on-Roll off (Ro-Ro) Port System in order to maintain its viability to the trade and tourism sector, more than a decade after its inception. It is also a response of the agency to the call from the private sector, specifically Ro-Ro operators, to improve the facilities amid their initiatives…
ICTSI and DOTr Launch the Country’s First Container Barge Terminal
International Container Terminal Services, Inc. (ICTSI), in partnership with the Philippine Department of Transportation (DOTr) recently launched the development of the country’s first container roll-on roll-off barge terminal in Tanza, Cavite. To be built on a six-hectare property, the soon-to-be Cavite Gateway Terminal (CGT) will facilitate off-the-road seaborn transport of containers between ICTSI’s Manila International Container Terminal and Cavite. The…
ECDIS: Everything you need to know
With the August deadline looming for ship owners to have Electronic Chart Display and Information Systems (ECDIS) installed on their vessels, this two-part article takes a brief look at why ECDIS was brought in, the key regulations behind it, the latest trends in ECDIS technology and what the future might hold for ECDIS innovation. Part I. Regulations behind ECDIS Born…
PRS Rebrands, Expands, and Offers More Value
Philippine Register of Shipping, Inc. (PRS) is the first and leading Filipino Classification Society established since 1989. PRS is driven by the most competent technical professionals from the Philippine maritime industry and is backed by the Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers, Inc. (SONAME). Rebrands. PRS responds to the changing maritime landscape and rebranded its corporate image last May…
Assessment of Operability of Ship Systems and Combat Engagement Capabilities of A Frigate
INTRODUCTION The primary mission of a frigate is to defend and strike. The threat assessment is a very crucial factor in the design, combat system outfit and capabilities of a Frigate. An in-depth study and analysis defines the parameters of the ship’s naval architectural design with a variety of sensors, early warning, defensive and offensive capabilities that can match the…
Damen FCS 3307 Patrol Vessel ordered by Nigeria’s Homeland
Just over a year after it took delivery of the second of two-fast crew supplier (FCS) 3307 Patrol Vessels, the Homeland Integrated Offshore Services Limited (Homeland) of Nigeria has ordered one more of the same class with an option on a second, to be named Guardian 3 and Guardian 4. Like their two predecessors, the two vessels are being supplied…
Friend of the Sea Certifies Indonesian PT Karyacipta Buanasentosa Tuna
PT Karyacipta Buanasentosa (PT KCBS), an Indonesian tuna catch and processing company, wholly owned by Yamako Pacific Pte Ltd, has recently obtained the Friend of the Sea certification for Skipjack and Yellowfin Tuna. The company complies with all Friend of the Sea requirements and can now display the official seal of approval on its products. All tuna species are fished…
Irrawaddy Dolphins in the Philippines
The Irrawaddy Dolphin belongs to the scientific family Delphinidae (marine dolphin), and Orcaella brevirostris species. Sir Richard Owen first identified the Irrawaddy Dolphin in 1866. It lives in shallow tropical and sub-tropical waters near coasts, and at the mouth of rivers or estuaries, land semi-enclosed lakes, bays, sounds and mangroves in Southeast Asian countries like Bangladesh, Cambodia, India, Indonesia, Laos,…