By GENIVI FACTAO

A maritime group is blaming the current lack of ship officers to the government’s inefficient licensing and certification system.

Capt. Rodolfo Estampador , chairman of Conference of Maritime Manning Agencies (COMMA) said the shortage of ship officers have been noted half a century ago but still the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) has yet to issue the procedure in licensing.

He said that PRC demands requirement over and above the STCW which in turn destroys the credibility of present training centers.

"PRC is looking for more that is beyond the minimum requirement in the Standards of Training, Certification, and Watchkeeping (STCW)," he said.

COMMA said the PRC in requiring officers to attend interim courses before they can renew their certificate of competency demands too much of the time of officers and at the same time insult the officers, trainers and the licensing system itself.

"This is not only an insult to the innocent majority of our ship officers but also a very costly exercise that gives a wrong signal to other parties to the STCW convention triggering doubts on the credibility of our licensing system," said Capt. Leuel Osena, executive vice president of the Philippine Maritime Institute Alumni Association Inc. (PMIAAI).

Estampador said based on the statistics, only 40 percent of the examinees pass the exam.

The PRC puts in jeopardy the employment of ship officers by requiring courses not needed by international law.

It noted that at least 30,651 officers were unjustly displaced in 2001 and 2002," the group said in a letter to Malacanang.

COMMA and PMIAAI said that the Maritime Training Council is offering courses they sell as mandatory under the International Maritime Organization (IMO).

They cited as example training on simulators (SSBT) required in US but not in other countries.

Many ship officers fail this expensive course, P12,000 tuition for five days training.

The group added that after taking the SSBT/BRM the PRC would not accept the certificate without the examinee presenting a certificate in Radar Navigation and Radar Plotting Aid (RNRPA).

"This means those who pass the BRM are being fooled to take a duplicate course. RNRPA is an integral part of BRM."

In addition to RNRPA, they are also required to present the certificate in "Radar Simulator Course (RSC)" that costs P4, 000 and lasts 5 days. All the courses taken in RNRPA are repetition in RSC.

In a letter addressed to President Arroyo, the group said they are looking at 180,000-job opening for the next 2 years, which translate to 55 percent net growth in seafarer work force in addition to the multiplier effect to the country’s economy as a whole.

They added that they want to maintain its edge in world shipping but unfortunately; they cannot meet the world requirements for as long as the flaws in licensure and certification system are not corrected immediately.

The maritime group is also in favor of abolishing the MTC.

"It is the Marina (Maritime Industry Authority) that should be handling all maritime matters so that there is only one guy who is answerable in all the issues concerned," Estampador said.