The Port Management Office of Misamis Oriental/Cagayan de Oro (PMO-MOC) virtually joined the celebration of the annual National Maritime Week hosted by the Maritime Industry Authority (MARINA), together with other partner agencies and institutions in Cagayan de Oro City including the maritime schools and shipping lines on September 20-25, 2020.
The celebration of the Maritime Week is in consonance with Circular No.1884 of the United Nations International Maritime Organization (IMO) mandating the celebration of the World Maritime Day every last week of September of the year, and the national Proclamation No. 1094, that both aim to recognize the important contribution of the seafarers to the economic development.
This year’s theme, “Sustainable Shipping for Sustainable Future,” aims to raise awareness of the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and on the actions of the maritime industry through the International Maritime Organization (IMO) to help achieve its targets.
Due to the prevailing Coronavirus Disease-2019 pandemic and to observe the minimum health standards, most of the activities for this year’s week-long celebration were conducted online. The celebration kicked off with the simultaneous blowing of ships’ horns and display of their respective flags on September 21, 2020 at 8:00 o’clock in the morning. The MARINA-NCR hosted the virtual opening ceremony in the morning and the MARINA Region 10 for the regional opening in the afternoon.
On September 22, the PMO together with the Philippine Coast Guard, spearheaded the conduct of Simulation Exercise (SimEx) on bomb detection and detonation. The PCG Auxiliary, PNP Maritime Group, PNP Explosives Ordinance Disposal, and other security and responding units actively took part in the said SimEx. MARINA took a live coverage of the drill via an online platform.
On even date, MARINA-10 and the University of Science and Technology of Southern Philippines launched the new Passenger E-tracer web and mobile application developed by the latter. This application will digitize the passenger manifests for real-time transmission from the port of origin to the port of destination, among other advantages.
In the continuing promotion of environmental awareness and protection among port stakeholders, the PMO MO/C conducted a webinar on Hazardous Waste Management on 24 September 2020 with resource speakers, Engr. Eldemero A. Gochuco and Engr. Farhana A. Pananggilaan of Environmental Management Bureau (EMB)-10.
The celebration concluded with a closing ceremony that included the virtual distribution of certificates of appreciation to all participating agencies and organizations; awarding of the winners for the online friendship games in which PMO MO/C came at 2nd place; and the turn over of National Maritime Week hosting for 2021 to PCG.