Oceanwide Group, a maritime training and marine survey specialist, and Archipelago Philippine Ferries Corporation (Archipelago), an operator of the most sophisticated and highly advanced mid-speed catamaran roro-passenger ship in the Philippines, has collaborated and initiated a Management Accountability and Improvement Performance (MAIP) Fleet Compliance Program.

MAIP Fleet Compliance Program (MAIP Program) aims to promote safety culture and responsible seafaring. The program introduces a FASTCAT Inspection regime as its core activity. It is a regular inspection of Fastcat vessels every ten (10) days by Oceanwide as third party surveyor in order to verify ship management performance and determine risk factors for the company in general, and the individual vessels and vessel crew, in particular.

Furthermore, the MAIP program includes proper surveys and audits for the statutory certification of Fastcat ships in compliance with MARPOL (Maritime Pollution Prevention) and MARSEC (local implantation of ISPS code) by Oceanwide as a Marpol Survey Organization of the Philippine Coast Guard and a Recognized Security Organization of the Office for Transportation Security, respectively.

“This program is the first of its kind for the domestic shipping. We do this for nation building. We are setting an example to the maritime industry that domestic shipping standards should be at par with that of the international. We thank Oceanwide for partnering with us in our advocacy for efficient, safe, secure and environmental friendly domestic shipping. We can assure our clients, passenger and cargo shippers alike that they are safe when sailing with us. Ginagawa namin ito para sa bayan” said by Ms. Mary Ann Pastrana, EVP of Achipelago, during the contract signing ceremony.

The program will keep a data analysis of the most redundant deficiencies and rooms for improvement thereby helping Fascat identify its risk factors and enable the company to mitigate these risks in order to avoid incidents and accidents in the future. The program likewise helps to improve performance of its seafarers and shore staff and may become one of the considerations for the HR Department in formulating policies for the retention, promotion and possible incentive scheme programs. While training seafarers plays a vital role in their development and in encouraging safety culture onboard, most companies have not checked or measured if these trainings really had an impact to the effective and efficient operation of its ships. This will be addressed by the MAIP Program.

During an interview with Capt. Gregory Nick Sevilla, Chairman and CEO of Oceanwide, he said that, “We are happy to see that a domestic shipping operator does it differently. This project entails a serious amount of money yet the owners, Mr. and Mrs. Pastrana, was the one pushing for its realization. FASTCAT sets the tone for its competition by keeping it into international standard. Oceanwide has always been a strong believer in responsible shipping, and FASTCAT is the best example for that.”

“Nonetheless, in carrying out its functions, Oceanwide will take into consideration that the implementation of the program will not hamper the ship operation and will carry out the program in the most economical, workable, efficient and practical way. Oceanwide ensures that the program is NOT seen as additional burden for the seafarers, but rather a tool for continuous improvement of the ship safety and operations”, Capt. Sevilla said.

Oceanwide Group, a maritime training and marine survey specialist, and Archipelago Philippine Ferries Corporation (Archipelago), an operator of the most sophisticated and highly advanced mid-speed catamaran roro-passenger ship in the Philippines, has collaborated and initiated a Management Accountability and Improvement Performance (MAIP) Fleet Compliance Program.

MAIP Fleet Compliance Program (MAIP Program) aims to promote safety culture and responsible seafaring. The program introduces a FASTCAT Inspection regime as its core activity. It is a regular inspection of Fastcat vessels every ten (10) days by Oceanwide as third party surveyor in order to verify ship management performance and determine risk factors for the company in general, and the individual vessels and vessel crew, in particular.

Furthermore, the MAIP program includes proper surveys and audits for the statutory certification of Fastcat ships in compliance with MARPOL (Maritime Pollution Prevention) and MARSEC (local implantation of ISPS code) by Oceanwide as a Marpol Survey Organization of the Philippine Coast Guard and a Recognized Security Organization of the Office for Transportation Security, respectively.

“This program is the first of its kind for the domestic shipping. We do this for nation building. We are setting an example to the maritime industry that domestic shipping standards should be at par with that of the international. We thank Oceanwide for partnering with us in our advocacy for efficient, safe, secure and environmental friendly domestic shipping. We can assure our clients, passenger and cargo shippers alike that they are safe when sailing with us. Ginagawa namin ito para sa bayan” said by Ms. Mary Ann Pastrana, EVP of Achipelago, during the contract signing ceremony.

The program will keep a data analysis of the most redundant deficiencies and rooms for improvement thereby helping Fascat identify its risk factors and enable the company to mitigate these risks in order to avoid incidents and accidents in the future. The program likewise helps to improve performance of its seafarers and shore staff and may become one of the considerations for the HR Department in formulating policies for the retention, promotion and possible incentive scheme programs. While training seafarers plays a vital role in their development and in encouraging safety culture onboard, most companies have not checked or measured if these trainings really had an impact to the effective and efficient operation of its ships. This will be addressed by the MAIP Program.

During an interview with Capt. Gregory Nick Sevilla, Chairman and CEO of Oceanwide, he said that, “We are happy to see that a domestic shipping operator does it differently. This project entails a serious amount of money yet the owners, Mr. and Mrs. Pastrana, was the one pushing for its realization. FASTCAT sets the tone for its competition by keeping it into international standard. Oceanwide has always been a strong believer in responsible shipping, and FASTCAT is the best example for that.”

“Nonetheless, in carrying out its functions, Oceanwide will take into consideration that the implementation of the program will not hamper the ship operation and will carry out the program in the most economical, workable, efficient and practical way. Oceanwide ensures that the program is NOT seen as additional burden for the seafarers, but rather a tool for continuous improvement of the ship safety and operations”, Capt. Sevilla said.