Philippines Positioned as Ship Repair Hub
The Philippines is ideally positioned in the Asia-Pacific region to repair ocean-going & fishing vessels according to a Japanese study. The report was contained in a study on the ship building and ship repair industry of the Philippines conducted by the Japan International Cooperation Agency and the Nomura Research Institute as part of the ongoing formulation of industry roadmaps by the [Philippine] Department of Trade and Industry reports the Manila Bulletin. Based on the study, the Philippines has the right ingredients to become a ship repair hub with strengths that include an inland sea, bay and deep seashore, abundant labor and legalized fiscal incentives.
Korea Shipbuilders Eye Orders from Brazil
According to a report from Manila Bulletin Publishing, South Korea's four shipbuilders will meet executives of Brazil's Petroleo Brasileiro SA (Petrobras), in Seoul the week of April 20, in hopes of getting vessel orders worth more than $25b, the companies said. (Source: Manila Bulletin Publishing)
President Arroyo Urge Sea Lanes for Tankers
President Arroyo has ordered the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) to identify "dedicated sea lanes" for tankers carrying oil and other hazardous chemicals to keep them away from "ecologically sensitive areas" and areas providing tourism and other livelihood opportunities, Manila Bulletin reported. Arroyo issued the directive in her second National Disaster Coordinating Council (NDCC) meeting on August 28 in Guimaras where she monitored the ongoing efforts to clean up and rehabilitate areas polluted by spilt oil from the sunken MT Solar I tanker. She will return to Guimaras on September 6 to convene another NDCC meeting during which the PCG will present its proposed dedicated sea lanes for tankers carrying oil and other chemicals.
DoTC Forms Team to Conduct Probe on Oil Spill
On recommendations of Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) commandant Vice Admiral Arthur N. Gosingan, Transportation and Communications Secretary Leandro P. Mendoza formed yesterday a national board of marine inquiry (BMI) to conduct a thorough fact-finding investigation on the oil spill off Guimaras Island in Western Visayas — so far the biggest ever reported environmental disaster in the country. In a press conference held at the PCG headquarters in Port Area, Manila, Gosingan said the creation of the national BMI elevated from a special board of marine inquiry (SBMI) the status of the probe body. Mendoza named Coast Guard deputy commandant Rear Admiral Danilo A. Abinoja as the national BMI chairman.
