The Philippines, through the Department of Transportation and the Maritime Industry Authority, asserted its position in the revised “White List” of Parties to the STCW Convention prepared by the Secretariat of the International Maritime Organization, through an intervention during the 6th session of the IMO Sub-Committee on Human Element, Training and Watchkeeping (HTW6) held at the IMO Headquarters in London, United Kingdom from April 29 to May 3, 2019.
During the Sub-Committee’s session on April 30, the Philippine delegation, together with delegations from other Parties of the STCW Convention, raised issues and questions to the Sub-committee and the IMO Secretariat regarding the sudden review and preparation of a draft revised White List, the procedures of the said review, and the criteria for issuance of a revised list.
According to Maritime Industry Authority (MARINA) Officer-in-Charge Vice Admiral Narciso Vingson Jr, no white list has been officially issued by the IMO excluding the Philippines. But, to thresh out issues and concerns, the creation of a ‘Working Group’ was agreed upon, so as to review the consistency of evaluation and the competency of those who would review.
“First, I would like to clarify that the IMO has not issued a ‘White List’ which does not include the Philippines. Nonetheless, it was agreed upon in one of the sessions that a TWG be established to work on all issues raised,” Vice Admiral Vingson said.
“The positive developments were attained due to the effort, commitment, and support of the entire team,” Vingson added.
For his part, Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade welcomed the recent development and challenged the MARINA to exert all the necessary efforts to prepare for the independent evaluation, which is part of the Philippines’ compliance as a Party to the STCW Convention.