JICA exec visits, inspects donated equipment
TACLOBAN CITY — The vice-president of the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) visited the National Maritime Polytechnic (NMP) this week, to inspect donated equipment for the school’s rehabilitation and recovery after Yolanda.
The NMP is Eastern Visayas’s leading maritime educational institution, which suffered massive losses when super-typhoon Yolanda struck this city on November 8, 2013.
JICA vice president Hiroshi Kato inspected Japanese government-donated equipment based on the Grant Aid Agreement entered into by the two entities.
The donation consisted of a totally enclosed lifeboat and davit; installation and commissioning of one set of full mission engine room simulator, a set of global maritime distress and safety system simulator; a fast rescue boat davit; and various safety equipment. The fast rescue boat is expected to arrive next month.
NMP officer-in-charge Ruben Maceda said JICA’s donation greatly helped NMP speed up the restoration of its training operations through the provision of state-of-the-art equipment. He said the NMP and JICA’s partnership started way back in 1984, with the construction of the administration, training and generator buildings.
This was followed with the provision of training facilities and equipment, upgrad- ing of training for trainers, technical advice in the preparation of trainer’s manuals that addressed the new curriculum for adopting the revised Standards of Training, Certification, and Watchkeeping for Seafarers (STCW) International Convention.
During Kato’s visit, Maceda showed the Japanese official the “JICA Friendship Park” with a marker that highlighted the names of NMP scholars and those of their counterpart trainers in Japan.
Grace Marie Ayaso, NMP head of Maritime Research and Development, added that in 2012, the Japanese government through its Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism also collaborated with the Philippine government—through the NMP, Philippine Overseas Employment Administration and then Maritime Training Council—in a research undertaking about “Filipino Seafarers’ Experiences of Maritime Piracy.”
“We have a very long history of cooperation and this is not the end.” Kato told The FREEMAN.
With the newly-donated equipment, NMP now expects to enhance the delivery of quality maritime training courses and the conduct of assessment of competences of Filipino seafarers to upgrade the seafaring expertise of merchant marine officers and ratings.