6th crew change hub activated in Batangas Port

6th crew change hub activated in Batangas Port
Betheena Unite December 11, 2020 https://mb.com.ph/2020/12/11/6th-crew-change-hub-activated-in-batangas-p...

A crew change hub in Batangas Port, the sixth in the country, was activated Friday.

The Department of Transportation (DOTr) activated the crew change hub following a simulation and dry-run of crew change hub operations at the Batangas Port.
(Department of Transportation – Philippines FACEBOOK / MANILA BULLETIN)

According to the department, the operation at the Batangas hub will start upon the issuance of a resolution of the Batangas Inter-Agency Task Force for COVID-19, authorizing the conduct of crew changes in the province.

Other crew change hubs were already activated in Subic, Bataan, Port of Manila, Cebu and Davao.

The crew change hub houses a one-stop shop (OSS) where arriving and disembarking seafarers will undergo the mandatory RT-PCR testing and triaging procedures for coronavirus. The seafarers will be transferred to a government-accredited quarantine facility while waiting for the result of their swab test.

The OSS is also a facility where all government services relative to crew changes are provided.

As of December 11, the crew change hubs across the country have already served a total of 1,409 ships engaged in international trade, as well as 23,609 Filipino and foreign seafarers.

Crew change is essential to ensure seafarers’ safety, health, welfare and employment, as they can only serve onboard a vessel without leave up to a maximum of 11 months, based on International Labor Organization (ILO) 2006 Maritime Labor Convention (MLC).

The Transportation department and its attached agencies –Office of Transportation Security (OTS), Maritime Industry Authority (MARINA), Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) and Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) led the activation of the crew change hub.

Following the Inter-Agency meeting and ocular inspection, DOTr Undersecretary and OTS Administrator Raul del Rosario and OIC-Assistant Secretary for Maritime Vice-Admiral Narciso Vingson Jr. led the testing of the operation protocols in preparation for the activation of crew change hub to ensure that health and safety procedures will be observed by the government agencies and private stakeholders in the conduct of crew changes in Batangas.

Also present during the activity were PPA Port Manager Joselito Sinocruz, MARINA Region IV Director Emmanuel Carpio, PCG District of Southern Tagalog Commodore Tito Alvin Andal, together with IATF Incident Commander from the Provincial Government of Batangas Dr. Gerald Albay and Rodrigo dela Roca from the Provincial Government of Batangas, as well as representatives from the Bureau of Quarantine, Bureau of Customs, Bureau of Immigration, and Overseas Workers Welfare Administration.