Water Transportation

Approximately 71 percent of the Earth's surface is water-covered. Thus, throughout history

sailing has been instrumental in the development of civilization, affording humanity greater
mobility than travel over land, whether for trade, transport or warfare, and the capacity for fishing.
Water transport, including rowed and sailed vessels, dates back to time immemorial, and was the
only efficient way to transport large quantities or over large distances prior to the Industrial
Revolution. In the time before ancient maritime history, the first boats are presumed to have been
dugout canoes, developed independently by various stone age populations, and used for coastal
fishing and travel.1 Early water transport was accomplished with ships that were either rowed or
used the wind for propulsion, or a combination of the two. The earliest representation of a ship
under sail appears on a painted disc found in Kuwait dating between 5000 and 5500 BCE. he
importance of water has led to most cities that grew up as sites for trading being located on rivers
or on the sea-shore, often at the intersection of two bodies of water. Until the Industrial Revolution,
transport remained slow and costly, and production and consumption gravitated as close to each
other as feasible.

Although slow, modern sea transport is a highly efficient method of transporting large
quantities of goods. Further,Transport by water is significantly less costly than air transport for
transcontinental shipping; short sea shipping and ferries remain viable in coastal areas. Water
transport is commonly used by the maritime industry, which includes several sub-categories.
Freight and cargo transportation, passenger boats such as charters and ferries, and commercial
fishing are all categories within the maritime industry, and rely on watercraft for water
transportation. Some water vessels carry only people, and others transport primarily cargo, while
others transport both. Ferries, for instance, might carry people and luggage, possibly even cars, to
their destinations. Fishing boats bring fishermen out to open waters to fish, and typically have
storage capacity to bring back catch. Some water transport vessels also process materials and goods
in addition to moving them from one place to the next. An example is catcher-processing fishing
ships, which prepare fish and seafood for sale on the market at their final destination. Some are
used for recreational purposes, such as jet-skis.

In the Philippines, water transport is a key sector in the economy, linking population and
economic centers across the islands. Water transport plays an important role due to the archipelagic
nature of the country, but road transport is by far the dominant sub-sector accounting for 98% of
passenger traffic and 58% of cargo traffic. While the transport infrastructure has been developed
and spread across the country, the level of service has not been sufficient due to the lack of
sustainable financing.2

Inter island water transport is a very important sub-sector of the national transport system.
There are about 1,300 ports, of which about 1,000 are government-owned and the rest are privately
owned and managed. Of the government-owned ports, about 140 fall under the jurisdiction of the
Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) and the Cebu Ports Authority; the remainder are the
responsibility of other government agencies or local government units. International cargo and
container track has grown steadily in recent years, supported by significant investments in the port
of Batangas by the PPA and in the port of Subic by the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority. Despite
growth in both the economy and the population, passenger traffic on domestic inter island shipping
services fell by about 13% between 2003 and 2008. Freight traffic on inter island shipping services
has not grown in line with the economy and now stands at about the same volume as in the mid-
1990s.

Despite the physical barriers that can hamper overall transport development in the country,
the Philippines has found ways to create and integrate an extensive transportation system that
connects the over 7,000 islands that surround the archipelago, and it has shown that through the
Filipinos' ingenuity and creativity, they have created several transport forms that are unique to the
country. With the growing industry for water transport, there is a need for governing bodies. In the
Philippines the major governing bodies include the Maritime Industry Authority (MARINA),
Philippine Coast Guard (PCG), Philippine Merchant Marine Academy (PMMA), Philippine Ports
authority (PPA), And Cebu Port Authority (CPA).

Governing Bodies for Water Transport

Maritime Industry Authority (MARINA)

The Philippines' Maritime Industry Authority (Filipino: Pangasiwaan ng Kalakalang

Pandagat), abbreviated as MARINA, is an agency of the Philippine government under the
Department of Transportation responsible for integrating the development, promotion and
regulation of the maritime industry in the Philippines. was created on June 1, 1974 with the
issuance of Presidential Decree No. 474 to integrate the development, promotion and regulation
of the maritime industry in the country. The regulatory function of the MARINA was increased
with issuance of EO No. 1011 which abolished the Board of Transportation and transferred the
quasi-judicial functions pertaining to water transportation to the MARINA.
MARINA has jurisdiction over the development, promotion and regulation of all
enterprises engaged in the business of designing, constructing, manufacturing, acquiring,
operating, supplying, repairing, and/or maintaining vessels, or component parts thereof, of
managing and/or operating shipping lines, shipyards, dry-docks, marine railways, marine repair
ships, shipping and freight forwarding agencies and similar enterprises.

By virtue of Presidential Decree No. 47, MARINA is mandated to adopt and implement a
practicable and coordinated Maritime Industry Development Program (MIDP) which shall include
among others: The early replacement of obsolescent and uneconomic vessels; Modernization and
expansion of the Philippine merchant fleet; Enhancement of domestic capability for shipbuilding,
repair and maintenance; and Development of a reservoir of trained manpower. Further, to provide
and help provide the necessary: Financial assistance to the industry thru public/private financial
institutions and instrumentalities; Technological assistance; and Favorable climate for expansion
of domestic and foreign investments in shipping enterprises. Lastly, to provide for the effective
supervision, regulation and rationalization of the organizational management, ownership and
operations of all water transport utilities and other maritime enterprises.

By virtue of Republic Act No. 9295, MARINA is mandated to:

1. Register vessels;
2. Issue certificate of public convenience, or any extensions or amendments thereto,
authorizing the operation of all kinds, classes and types of vessels in domestic shipping:
Provided, that no such certificate shall be valid for a period or more than twenty-five (25)
years;
3. Modify, suspend or revoke at any time, upon notice and hearing, any certificate, license or
accreditation it may have issued to any domestic ship operator;
4. Establish and prescribe routes, zones or areas of operations of domestic ship operators;
5. Require any domestic ship operator to provide shipping services to any coastal area, island
or region in the country where such services are necessary for the development of the area,
to meet emergency sealift requirements, or when the public interest so requires;
6. Set safety standards for vessels in accordance with applicable conventions and regulations;
7. Require all domestic ship operators to comply with operational and safety standards for
vessels set by applicable conventions and regulations, maintain its vessels in safe and
serviceable condition, meet the standards of safety of life at sea and safe manning
requirements, and furnish safe, adequate, reliable and proper service at all times;
8. Inspect all vessels to ensure and enforce compliance with safety standards and other
regulations;
9. Ensure that all domestic ship operators shall have the financial capacity to provide and
sustain safe, reliable, efficient and economic passenger or cargo service, or both;
10. Determine the impact which any new service shall have to the locality it will serve;
11. Adopt and enforce such rules and regulations which will ensure compliance by every
domestic ship operator with required safety standards and other rules and regulations on
vessel safety;
12. Adopt such rules and regulations which will ensure the reasonable stability of passengers
and freight rates and, if necessary, to intervene in order to protect public interest;
13. Hear and adjudicate any complaint made in writing involving any violation of this law or
the rules and regulations of the Authority;
14. Impose such fines and penalties on, including the revocation of licenses of, any domestic
ship operator who shall fail to maintain its vessels in safe and serviceable condition, or who
shall violate or fail to comply with safety regulations;
15. Investigate any complaint made in writing against any domestic ship operator, or any
shipper, or any group of shippers regarding any matter involving violations of the
provisions of this Act; and
16. Upon notice and hearing, impose such fines, suspend or revoke certificates of public
convenience or other license issued, or otherwise penalize any ship operator, shipper or
group of shippers found violating the provisions of this Act.
17. Determine the impact which any new service shall have to the locality it will serve;
Philippine Coast Guard (PCG)

The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) (Filipino: Tanod Baybayin ng Pilipinas) is an armed
and uniformed service tasked primarily with enforcing laws within Philippine waters, conducting
maritime security operations, safeguarding life and property at sea, and protecting marine
environment and resources; similar to coast guards around the world. It is an agency attached to
the Department of Transportation of the Philippines. It currently maintains a presence throughout
the archipelago, with twelve Coast Guard Districts, fifty-four CG Stations and over one hundred
ninety Coast Guard Sub-Stations, from Basco, Batanes to Bongao, Tawi-Tawi.

The civilian nature of the PCG functions led to the separation of the Coast Guard from the
Philippine Navy on 30 March 1998 by virtue of Executive Order 475 signed by President Fidel
Ramos. It order effectively transferred the PCG from the Department of National Defense to the
Office of the President, and eventually to the Department of Transportation and Communications
(DOTC) on 15 April 1998 by virtue of Executive Order 477. These executive orders provided inter
alia that the PCG shall continue to the agency primarily responsible for the promotion of safety of
life and property at sea and the protection of the maritime environment as mandated under the
Philippine Coast Guard Law and Presidential Decrees 600, 601, 602, and 979, as a mended.

With enactment of Republic Act 9993, also known as the Coast Guard Law of 2009, as
well as its implementing rules and regulations, the PCG has been vested with the necessary
authority and responsibility to perform preventive measures in ensuring the safety of merchant
vessels. The new law also strengthened PCG’s authority to meet new challenges and increasing
demands for marine resources, technological advancement and climate change. Further, the law
has defined the PCG’s rightful niche in the bureaucracy as the premier maritime agency and its
vital role in nation building.

Philippine Merchant Marine Academy (PMMA)

The Philippine Merchant Marine Academy (PMMA) is the Premiere Merchant Marine
academy in the Philippines. Operated by the Filipino government under the supervision of the
Commission on Higher Education (CHED), the academy is located in San Narciso, in the province
of Zambales. Students are called midshipmen but are often also referred to as cadets. Upon
graduation students are commissioned as Ensigns (2nd Lieutenants) in the Philippine Navy
Reserve. They have the option to start a career in the maritime industry or sign up for active
military duty either in the Philippine Navy or the Philippine Coast Guard.

Philippine Ports Authority (PPA)

The Philippine Ports Authority, is a government-owned corporation under the Department

of Transportation and Communications as an attached agency. It is responsible for financing,
management and operations of public port throughout the Philippines, except the port of Cebu,
which is under the Cebu Ports Authority. The PPA was subsequently removed from under the
jurisdiction of the MPWH (DPWH) and attached to what is now the Department of Transportation
and Communications (DOTC) for policy and program coordination. Subsequently, by virtue of
Executive Order No. 159, which was issued in 1987, the PPA is now vested with the function of
undertaking all port construction projects under its port system, relieving DPWH of this
responsibility. The executive order also granted PPA financial autonomy.

Cebu Port Authority (CPA)

Port of Cebu is a seaport located in Cebu City, Philippines. It is the port that serves the
Metro Cebu Area and it is managed by the Cebu Port Authority. It is the largest domestic port in
the Philippines, mostly serving routes in the Visayas and Mindanao. The Cebu Port Commission
(CPC) is the governing body of the Cebu Port Authority.

Duties and Functions of Members of the Board:

The powers and functions of the Port Commission shall be as follows:
(a) To manage, administer, operate, maintain, improve and develop, coordinate and
otherwise govern the activities of all the ports within its territorial jurisdiction;
(b) To investigate, prepare, adopt, implement and execute a comprehensive and orderly
plan for the overall development of all ports within its territorial jurisdiction, and to update such
plans, as may be warranted from time to time;
(c) To raise revenues for the Authority through fees, tolls, charges, rentals and the like for
the use of any property, equipment or facility owned or controlled by it;
(d) To raise and administer, together with such revenues as may by law accrue to the
Authority, capital outlays by means of loans from any local or foreign financial institution to
finance its projects;
 (e) To determine by survey and establish by engineering design the exact location, system
and character of any and all port facilities which it may own, construct, establish, effectuate,
operate or control;
(f) To provide and maintain port facilities including accessory buildings and installations
within its territorial jurisdiction on its own or through the private sector;
(g) To prescribe and enforce rules and regulations on the use of wharves, piers and
anchorages by ships and other watercraft;
(h) To determine the organization of the Authority and create such functional units therein
as it may deem necessary in the proper and efficient implementation of the functions and purposes
of the Authority, including the appointment of officials and employees, it being understood that
the security of tenure of these workers shall be respected consistent with existing laws;
(i) To define the duties and fix the compensation and benefits of the General Manager,
Deputy General Manager, Port Managers, and other officers of the Authority, in accordance with
the rules and regulations of the Civil Service Commission and the Department of Budget and
Management;
(j) To approve the annual budget of the Authority and/or such supplemental budgets thereof
as may be submitted by the General Manager from time to time; and
(k) To perform such other duties as may be necessary and convenient for the attainment of
the objectives of the Authority.

Bibliography

ADB Assessment, 2012, “Philippines: Transport Sector, Assessment, Strategy, and Road Map,”
ISBN 978-92-9092-854-6 (Print), 978-92-9092-855-3 (PDF) Publication Stock No. RPS124914

Carter, Robert "Boat remains and maritime trade in the Persian Gulf during the sixth and fifth
millennia BC"AntiquityVolume 80 No.307 March 2006

Stopford, Martin (1997). Maritime Economics. London: Routledge. ISBN 0-415-15310-7.

ww.marina.gov.ph

www.cpa.gov.ph

http://www.coastguard.gov.ph

www.pmma.edu.ph

www.ppa.com.ph