Beginning in May 2019, the Maritime Administration Department (MARAD) will be unveiling its Card of Competency for seafarers, according to the Department of Public Information (DPI). This will be at no extra cost for persons with existing documents or first-time applicants. Director of Maritime Safety, Captain John Flores cited the ongoing issue of fraudulent certificates while at a seminar for Seafarers hosted yesterday.
“What we are grappling with now in the Maritime administration, is the issue of fraudulent certification, which is also affecting safety… We want to keep one step ahead of the people out there who are making these things. There might be several printing shops operating around the country which produce all of these documents”, the Maritime Safety Director noted.
Director-General, Claudette Rogers, in her remarks, focused on the importance of the new card of competency. “Unfortunately, most of the milestone developments in legislation have been prompted by major casualties at sea… We should not have to
wait on a catastrophic accident in order to focus our minds on the human element of shipping”, said Rogers.
