Marina: Weighed and found wanting

MANILA, Philippines - Weeks after the tragedy, the M/V Princess of the Stars rests under water, still and quiet. The opposite can be said about its owner and the government agencies blamed for its fate: they have been shuttling to and from various hearings on the sea tragedy, clearly under fire. The Maritime Industry Authority (Marina), as the regulatory body for water transportation, is a key player in the Philippine's latest sea disaster. It is currently conducting its own investigation to determine whether the franchise of the ship's owner, Sulpicio Lines, should be canceled. But as the country’s regulatory body for water transportation, Marina itself also merits scrutiny. The Commission on Audit (COA) did just that in 2004, when it conducted a performance audit on Marina’s regulatory functions and reviewed the standards it has set for the maritime industry. Unlike the annual COA audit reports, a performance audit is not a regular audit; it is done only on select government offices. COA’s findings: although Marina’s standards for the safety and convenience of passengers are adequate, the maritime agency failed to enforce and monitor compliance with these benchmarks. During the audit period, state auditors found that a number of ships were allowed to travel despite deficiencies in manpower, safety equipment and facilities for the riding public’s convenience. Some ship owners were authorized to operate even if they are not financially capable to run the business. Others were allowed to operate without inspection records. Incompetent crew, inadequate facilities "These lapses adversely affected the ability of the vessels to protect the interest of the riding public and may have contributed to sea [tragedies] and accidents," noted COA’s government-wide performance audit on the regulatory functions of Marina. COA auditors inspected the documents of selected vessels during the audit period (August to September 2004) and found that a number of vessels were allowed to operate despite deficiencies. Some ships sampled by COA did not have enough competent and qualified officials and crew to man the vessels. Some ships bore minor or structural deficiencies—not enough toilets, not enough seats in dining rooms, no amenities for disabled passengers, too narrow passageways—and yet secured Certificates of Compliance from Marina. There were also cases where the passenger accommodation data stated in the ship’s Certificate of Inspection, issued by the Philippine Coast Guard, did not tally with figures in the inspection reports of Marina’s Enforcement Office. For instance, one ship’s authorized passenger capacity with accommodation was 1,362, even as the actual number of bunks/berths to accommodate passengers is only 912. Some ships did not comply with Marina’s requirements for Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS), firefighting, navigational and communication equipment. Most of the vessels were also found to be deficient in safety gear and equipment—not enough life rafts and signaling devices, busted lights, incomplete fireman’s outfits, other requirements not on board. "These conditions would greatly affect the ability of the officials on board to ensure safety and convenience of passengers," COA noted. COA said that Marina’s manning, minimum service and safety standards—if enforced—are sufficient to protect public interest and ensure passenger satisfaction. Of the 23 COA-inspected vessels docked in Cebu and Batangas, only five are compliant with Marina’s safety standards. In response to the COA findings, Marina said the deficiencies noted by audit body have already been corrected by the vessels’ operators. But Marina did not submit any proof of compliance, COA said. ’Poor’ ship owners COA was also dissatisfied with Marina’s financial standards for measuring a ship owner’s capability to operate a shipping business. Marina has a formula for computing a ship operator’s financial capability. “Under the formula, even operators with either negative working capital or stockholder’s equity are deemed qualified," COA said. The formula, in effect, does not show if a shipping company has enough money to maintain its shipping operation. Marina’s Domestic Shipping Office drafted a revised financial standard in 2005 but has yet to implement the new formula. As of 2007, the proposed formula is pending approval by the Marina Board. Lax ship inspection Marina is assisted by the Philippine Coast Guard in some of its duties. Among these deputized functions is the issuance of a Certificate of Inspection, an important document signifying the seaworthiness of a vessel. The Coast Guard is also tasked to conduct the yearly inspection of domestic vessels operating nationwide. COA’s performance audit of Marina in 2004 showed that the Coast Guard issued Certificates of Inspection even in the presence of deficiencies. The report also disclosed that at least 1,133 vessels were authorized to operate even if these had no inspection records. “The functions deputized to the Philippine Coast Guard were not properly monitored. A number of vessels operating and issued coastwise or bay and river licenses have no records of inspection with Marina," COA said. “There is, therefore, no assurance that these vessels were indeed inspected and have complied with the safety requirements." Marina explained that the Coast Guard failed to submit the required reports on time. That there is no assurance of a thorough inspection of marine vessels was also inferred by Akbayan party-list Rep. Risa Hontiveros-Baraquel during a House committee hearing on the sinking of the M/V Princess of the Stars last month. Commenting on the Coast Guard’s inspection of the ill-fated ship, Baraquel hinted disbelief over the Coast Guard’s inspection procedure. “Why is it that only one person allegedly boarded the Princess? Can this one person manage to inspect the whole ship? Is he all knowing?… Can he inspect a ship as large as the Princess of the Stars within 15 minutes?" Baraquel asked. The Coast Guard said it no longer handles the issuance of certificates of inspection. “Yung mga normal na ginagawa ng Coast Guard like inspection sa mga barko bago umalis, nandyan pa rin. Pero yung pagbibigay ng inspection katulad ng CI (Certificate of Inspection) dati, wala na po yan sa Coast Guard, nasa Marina na," explained Coast Guard spokesperson Armand Balilo in an interview with GMA News. For Marina’s part, Administrator Vicente Suazo Jr. said that the agency has formed an auditing team and a composite team that will conduct inspections separately. The teams, created in the first quarter of 2008, are tasked to keep Marina’s personnel and non-compliant vessel owners in check. “We have (also) manualized our safety inspection system," Suazo told GMA News. “The manual will guide every inspector so that every detail is not missed… so we can see the lapses," he added. COA recommendations In view of their findings, COA recommended that Marina should be stricter in enforcing compliance with standards. Existing standards, meanwhile, should be reviewed to check if they are still relevant under current conditions. As of Marina’s 2007 Annual Audit Report, these recommendations are in various stages of implementation. Marina’s Maritime Safety Office has already notified the vessel owners of substandard ships. “If the deficiencies noted are major deficiencies, the requested safety certificate of the vessel will not be issued until the noted deficiencies are complied with/rectified, subject to re-inspection/verification by Marina inspectors," Marina told COA. Marina is also revising the Philippine Merchant Marine Rules and Regulations in keeping with COA’s recommendation for a regular reassessment of manning standards, service standards and equipment/facility requirements. COA advised Marina to maintain a database of regulated shipping operators/companies, as there was no such masterlist at the time of the performance audit in 2004. Marina reported that it has already developed an application system for that purpose. What remains lacking are the computers and manpower (encoders, etc.) to run the system. As of 2007, there is a pending delivery of computers for Marina’s database project. - GMA News Research