MARINA urges shipyards to join new industry association

The Maritime Industry Authority of Philippines (MARINA) has formed a technical committee to encourage the country’s shipyards to join the newly formed Shipyards Association of Philippines (SHAP).

Speaking at Marine Philippines 2015, Ramon Hernandez, MARINA’s director of shipyards regulation service, envisions all 112 shipyards in the country will have joined SHAP by the end of 2015.

However, Hernandez told IHS Maritime of the uphill task ahead in getting all the shipyards to join the association, as shipyards were scattered across the country’s vast archipelago. Some small- and medium-sized shipyards have also raised fears of bigger shipyards taking over their businesses.

Hernandez said that the creation of SHAP would allow bigger shipyards to help small- and medium-sized shipyards and related enterprises in developing physical and manpower capacities, increasing quality and overall global competitiveness.

“The technical committee will look into laws, regulations, and policy to encourage all shipyards to join SHAP to represent the needs of shipyards in a common voice,” said Hernandez.

Marine Philippines 2015 was held 17-19 June in Manila, attracting an international mix of shipbuilding companies, maritime companies, and related supporting industries. The exhibition showcased the latest developments in the shipbuilding and maritime industry that facilitate Philippines’ status as the world’s fourth-largest shipbuilding nation in terms of capacity.

This post was sourced from IHS Maritime 360: View the original article here.