On board the government’s multi-mission research vessel, M/V DA-BFAR, fisherfolk and officials from the Department of Agriculture and Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (DA-BFAR) sailed to Philippine Rise on 06-May-2017 and deployed fish aggregating devices, commonly called payao, to stir up more fishing in the region. A traditional Philippine payao is a simple bamboo raft with a superstructure at…
Prior to June 2017, there were two species classified as genus Manta: Birostris and Alfredi. According to Marine Wildlife Philippines, the new taxonomy now classifies them as genus Mobula (White et al, 2017) as Mobula birostris and Mobula alfredi. Both mobula ray species are found in the Philippines, and are closely related to sharks, skates, and other rays. Collectively, they…
Seafarers are the lifeblood of the shipping industry and are critical to its future sustainability. That said, are we doing enough to ensure the welfare of those at sea? Furthermore, could major improvements to crew welfare save the shipping industry millions of dollars per year? Is crew welfare key to a safe voyage? A seafarer’s state of wellbeing can make…
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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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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,…
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Five years ago, the United Nations Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf adopted in its entirety the Philippine submission to extend the country’s seabed boundary in the Philippine Sea with the discovery of the Benham Rise Region. The UN concurrence added 135,506 square kilometers, about 45% of the nation’s land area, to Philippine seabed area and the waters…
An Order was issued proclaiming a Naval Reservation at Bicobian, Isabela by former President Ferdinand Marcos after the Karagatan incident wherein the CPA/NPA/NDF landed some 500 M14 rifles (made in China) on a fishing boat that ran aground at Digoyo Point, Isabela due to rough seas in mid-1972. I later got ordered to move the RPS Iloilo (PS32) from Northern…
The Philippine Ambassadors Foundation Inc. (PAFI) urges the Philippines to seize the opportunity presented by its chairing of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations in 2017 when ASEAN celebrates the 50th anniversary of its founding to assert and project a leadership role in the construction of regional ocean governance and maritime security as a Philippine contribution to the ASEAN Community…