RULES TO IMPLEMENT SAFETY MEASURES FOR PASSENGER SHIPS WITH OPEN DECKHOUSE

I. OBJECTIVES

1. To promote and maintain safety on board ships;
2. To instill awareness, preparedness and alertness in case of maritime emergencies and accidents.

II. COVERAGE

All passenger ships with open deckhouse.

III. GENERAL PROVISIONS

1. All ships shall be required to implement safety measures.
2. All ships must provide a Public Address (PA) System, like megaphone, mini amplifier,
karaoke with microphone to announce the safety measures.
3. The instructions for safety measures must be in the local dialect or Filipino, with English version.
4. Life jackets shall be numbered according to the total capacity
(passengers and crew) of the ship and must indicate the name of the
ship. The lifejackets shall likewise be properly marked either for “ADULT” or for “CHILD”. (See attached Annex “C”* for illustration).

IV. SPECIFIC PROVISIONS

1. The safety announcement and the conduct of actual demonstration
on the wearing of lifejacket shall be made prior to departure of the
ship. Said announcement may be done also at the passenger terminal.
2. The crew shall distribute life jackets and safety instruction
leaflets on the proper wearing of the life jackets and the use of other
life saving appliances prior to departure of the ship. The number of
leaflets must correspond to the number of authorized passenger capacity.

3. All passengers shall be required to wear lifejackets from the
time of departure and during the entire voyage, except in floating
restaurants and in ships used in river crossings, in which case the
lifejackets shall be placed in an easily accessible location. Any
passenger who refuses to wear the lifejacket will be requested to
disembark. Such passenger shall get a refund of his ticket, subject to
the surcharge under Memorandum Circular 112.
4. The crewmembers shall at all times wear uniform, a T-shirt with the printed word “CREW” for easy identification.
5. The owner/operator, Boat Captain including the crew must keep the lifejackets clean and ready for use at all times.
6. The Boat Captain shall ensure that all the requirements of this Circular are complied with prior to departure.
7. A pro-forma public announcement on safety, attached as Annex “A”*, is hereby prescribed/shall be used.
8. A pro-forma public announcement before docking, attached as Annex “B”*, is hereby prescribed/shall be used.

V . PENALTIES AND SANCTIONS

Violations of the provisions of this Circular shall be subject to the following fines and penalties:

VI. Repealing Clause

Any provision of existing MARINA Circulars and rules and
regulations inconsistent herewith is hereby repealed/amended
accordingly.

VII. TRANSITORY PROVISION

All existing ships covered by this Circular are given one (1) month
to comply with Sections III.4 and IV.4 and three (3) days for all other
provisions, from the publication of this Circular.

VIII. EFFECTIVITY

This Circular shall take effect immediately upon its publication once in a newspaper of general circulation.

Adopted: 12 Dec. 2008

BY THE AUTHORITY OF THE MARINA BOARD:

(SGD.) MARIA ELENA H. BAUTIS TA
Undersecretary for Maritime Transport, DOTC and Officer-in-Charge, MARINA