Maritime Industry Authority

About Us - Profile

History

The MARINA was created on 01 June 1974 with the issuance of PD 474 and started functioning as an agency attached to the office of the President (OP) on 29 August 1979 with the issuance of PD 761 mandating the agency to integrate the development, promotion and regulation of the country’s maritime industry. In 1979, MARINA, pursuant to EO 546 dated 23 July of the same year, was made an attached agency of the Ministry of Transportation and Communications (MOTC) for policy and program coordination. The succeeding years saw the development, evolution both in organization and in function of MARINA as a government agency to actively address the demand for reforms in the maritime industry and propel the industry to national development and economic growth. Thus, by virtue of EO 1011 issued on 20 March 1985, MARINA assumed jurisdiction on the quasi-judicial functions of the Board of Transportation (BOT) in the franchising and route fixing involving water transportation services under the Public Service Act (PSA), as amended. The Liner Traffic Regulations Office (LITRO), which was created in 1982 to implement EO 769 in fulfillment of the requirements of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) on the conduct of liner conferences and deemed in operational in 1984, became MARINA Secretariat (MARSEC) to perform the franchising functions of the agency which in later years evolved into the Franchising Staff of the MARINA. On 30 January 1987, EO 125, as amended by EO 125-A on 13 April 1987, was issued reorganizing the DOTC defining agencies under its umbrella and specifically transferring to MARINA certain functions of the PCG such as the vessel registration, safety regulatory functions, issuance of seaman’s book and licensing of harbor bay and river pilots. The year 1988 saw further expansion of the MARINA with the conversion of its District Offices in Cebu and Zamboanga into regional offices and the creation of four (4) additional regional offices in Batangas, Iloilo, Davao, and Cagayan de Oro. MARINA also assumed functions relative to the Endorsement of Certificates and Rating’s Certificates pursuant to the 1978 Convention, as amended. RA 9295 otherwise known as the Domestic Shipping Act 2004 marked another milestone in the maritime industry. In brief, the Act aims to promote the development of Philippine domestic shipping, shipbuilding, ship repair and ship breaking.