NMP ties up with Roble Shipping, Inc. and Gothong Southern Shipping Lines Inc.

By National Maritime Polytechnic
October 1, 2019

TACLOBAN CITY – The National Maritime Polytechnic (NMP) forged a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) with the Roble Shipping, Inc. (RSI) and Gothong Southern Shipping Lines Inc. last 18 September 2019.

The MOA signing with RSI conducted at the Conference Room of the Roble Shipping Office in Cebu City, aimed to address the critical issues specifically the widely reported accidents on mooring operations during docking/undocking maneuver resulting to severe injuries and even loss of lives of the vessels’ crew members.

With the help of strengthening ties of cooperation and promoting exchange of information on maritime development particularly on training and research, the agreement signified a start of battling with the lack of knowledge, familiarization, experience, and poor on-board practices of crew members relative to high risk mooring operations as the common cause of the said accidents.

After the successful collaboration of RSI with NMP, last 28 March 2018 a Pilot Class on Safe Mooring Practices was conducted with twenty-four (24) participants.

Further, determining its positive impact to the staff and crew of RSI, the latter requested that the conduct of the course be continuously done for the benefit of the rest of their employees following a calendar of activities to be prepared by the RSI.

Accordingly, in its desire to increase awareness on safe and effective operation of a vessel crane, the Gothong Southern Shipping Lines Inc. collaborated with NMP to develop a company-specific course on Vessel Crane Operation.

In view of reports showing the majority of crane-related accidents caused by human error which may have resulted in safety risks and uncontrollable lost time, a proper training and familiarization with the operating instructions of the equipment is needed to obtain the knowledge and understanding on the principles and safety practices concerning vessel operation.

The MOA signing was conducted at the Gothong Southern Shipping Lines Inc. office in Cebu City with the agreement to have the course pilot tested at the Gothong Southern Office in Cebu City.

Meanwhile, the course is open to other companies and general public who may take interest in forging a MOA with NMP.

Likewise, to further strengthen cooperation toward developing and improving the quality of training programs offered for seafarers in the domestic trade, the NMP continues to develop STCW and value-adding courses as it is mandated to train and update the country’s maritime manpower through the conduct of upgrading, specialized, and safety training courses.