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Adopted: 15 April 2015
Date Filed: 21 April 2015
Pursuant to Presidential Decree No. 474, Republic Act No. 10635 and its Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR), and the 1978 International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping (STCW) for Seafarers, as amended, the following policies, rules and regulations are hereby adopted:


1. OBJECTIVES:

1.1	To prescribe policies, rules and regulations on the accreditation of Practical Assessment Centers (PACs) in the conduct of assessment for the issuance of Certificates of Competencies (COCs) pursuant to STCW Circulars 2014-08 to 2014-13.
1.2	To implement the applicable provisions of Regulation I/6 “Training and Assessment”, Regulation I/8 “Quality Standards” and Regulation I/12 “Use of Simulators” of the 1978 STCW Convention, as Amended, on the assessment of competence of seafarers;
1.3	To ensure that only qualified and capable PACs are given the approval to operate and conduct assessment of seafarers.

2. COVERAGE:

This Circular shall apply to all entities, government-owned and private, interested to be become PACs.

3. DEFINITION OF TERMS:

For purposes of this Circular, terms defined under STCW Circular Nos. 2014-01, 2014-08, 2014-09, 2014-10, 2014-11, 2014-12 and 2014-13, including their subsequent amendments, are hereby adopted.

In addition, “Practical Assessment Center (PAC)” is defined as an institution recognized and approved by MARINA STCW Office for the purpose of conducting Practical Assessment for Marine Deck Officer and Marine Engineer Officer candidates for COC.

4. GENERAL PROVISIONS

4.1	Practical assessment of seafarers shall be conducted only by MARINA- accredited entity.
4.2	Entities intending to seek accreditation as PAC must present a documentary evidence that one of their primary businesses is to engage in providing assessment activities and that the same must be clearly stated in its Articles of Incorporation approved by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) or nature of business in case of DTI Registered entities.
4.3	PACs that are engaged as training providers or review center or both of the following Approved Training Programs (ATPs) shall not assess their own students/reviewees:
	4.3.1	Ship Simulator and Bridge Teamwork (with Bridge Resource Management (BRM));
	4.3.2	Management Level Course for Marine Deck Officers;
	4.3.3	Engine Room Simulator (with Engine Room Resource Management);
	4.3.4	Management Level Course Marine Engineer Officers;
4.4	MARINA through Examination and Assessment Division shall provide PACs with the list of qualified candidates for assessment.
4.5	Practical Assessment Certificates duly signed by the accredited Assessor of the PAC and a member of the BOMDO or BOMEO shall be issued to seafarers who successfully passed all the competency requirements.
4.6	All simulators to be used for assessment shall comply with the simulator performance standards as prescribed in Section I/12 of the STCW Code.
4.7	Accredited PACs shall conduct familiarization on the simulator and its equipment prior to the start of an assessment exercise.

5. SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:

5.1	All PACs shall employ permanent assessors duly accredited by MARINA. On-call assessors are not allowed to conduct assessment.
5.2	Conduct of practical assessment including qualification and experience of assessors must be covered by a quality standard system.
5.3	All simulators to be used shall comply with Section A-l/12, paragraph 2 General Performance Standards for Simulators Used in Assessment of Competence prescribed under the STCW Code.
5.4	The conduct of any practical assessment for seafarers using simulators shall be in accordance with Section A-I/12, Part 2, paragraph 8 of the STCW Code.
5.5	Practical assessment scenarios shall be in accordance with Regulation 1/12 section A-1/12 paragraph 8 and column 4 Criteria for Evaluation of Competence of the STCW 1978 Convention, as amended.

6. REQUIREMENTS FOR FILING OF APPLICATION FOR ACCREDITATION:

6.1	Duly accomplished application form supported by the following valid documents:
	6.1.1	Letter of Intent signed by the President/Owner or authorized representative of the PAC;
	6.1.2	Certified True Copy of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Registration Certificate and Articles of Incorporation for corporation/partnership or Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Registration Certificate for sole proprietorship;
	6.1.3	Company Profile (A short narrative regarding the company, the company’s officials and their updated resumes with colored head photographs including the organization structure);
	6.1.4	Business Permit;
	6.1.5	Fire Safety Inspection Certificate;
	6.1.6	Quality Standard System Certification;
	6.1.7	Certificate of Ownership of the lot and building or notarized contract of lease
6.2	Type Approval Certificate and proof of ownership of the simulator;
6.3	Floor Plan of the PAC;
6.4	Set of Guidelines and Procedures in the administration of practical assessment including creation and validation of scenarios;
6.5	Affidavit of Undertaking signed by the President or Owner of the PAC stating in substance that the PAC shall perform all duties and responsibilities of an accredited PAC as enumerated in Item X hereof and that all documents submitted are authentic;
6.6	Specimen signatures of the PAC’s authorized signatories;
6.7	List of Assessors and copies of certificate of accreditation.`

7. BASIC REQUIREMENT FOR ACCREDITATION:

7.1	Structural Facilities
	7.1.1	Administrative Office
	7.1.2	Assessors’ Office
	7.1.3	Registration Area
	7.1.4	Reception Area
	7.1.5	Records Section
	7.1.6	Briefing and debriefing Area
	7.1.7	Holding Area - Serves as waiting area prior to the conduct of the practical examination. Preferably located adjacent to the assessment room.
	7.1.8	Comfort Rooms
	7.1.9	Real-time Audio and Video Monitoring System and Facilities – PACs must provide appropriate installation of real-time audio and video monitoring technology that can be accessed remotely by MARINA at any given time in accordance with the provisions of paragraph 7.3.1.4 of the IRR of RA 10635.
7.2	Assessors’ Qualifications
	7.2.1	Management Level Officers with at least 12 months sea service performing functions appropriate to the Certificate, for assessing Management Level of Competencies.
	7.2.2	At least Operational Level Officers with a minimum of 12 months sea service performing functions appropriate to the Certificate, for assessing Operational Level of Competencies.
	7.2.3	Certificated on IMO Model Courses 3.12 and 6.10.
	7.2.4	Certificate in Operational Use of Simulator Provided by the Manufacturer or supplier.

8. CERTIFICATE OF ACCREDITATION

8.1	A Certificate of Accreditation valid for three (3) years shall only be issued to a PAC who has satisfactorily complied all the requirements set forth in this Circular.

9. CONDUCT OF INSPECTION AND CHECKLIST OF REQUIREMENTS

An inspection shall be conducted prior to the issuance of Certificate of Accreditation.

9.1	The STCW Office Inspection Team shall be composed of the following:
	9.1.1	Team Leader - a member of the BOMDO/BOMEO;
	9.1.2	Members
		-	At least two (2) BOMDO/BOMEO;
		-	Two staff from the Accreditation Division;
		-	One staff from the Examination & Assessment Division and;
		-	One Maritime Education Training and Standards Supervisor (METSS).
9.2	Any non-conformity found at the time of inspection shall be noted and made known to the authorized officials of the applicant during the Closing Meeting.
9.3	Noted deficiencies during the inspection must be rectified within thirty (30) working days, to be reckoned from the date of receipt of official inspection report. Once rectified, applicant must submit proof of compliance to the STCWO and request for a re-inspection.
9.4	Applicant who cannot rectify the noted deficiencies identified during the last inspection within sixty (60) days to be reckoned from the date of receipt of official inspection report shall nullify its application for accreditation.

10. DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF A PRACTICAL ASSESSMENT CENTER (PAC)

The accredited PAC shall be responsible for the overall conduct of practical assessment. As such, it is the duty of the PAC to:

10.1	Create assessment scenarios meeting the objectives of this Circular in accordance with Regulation 1/12 section A-1/12 paragraph 8 and column 4 Criteria for Evaluation of Competence of the STCW 1978 Convention, as amended.
10.2	Ensure that assessment scenarios are validated and must be able to show proof of validation.
10.3	Validated scenarios shall be submitted to the BOMDO/BOMEO prior to the conduct of assessment.
10.4	Transmit electronically all the enrollment reports to the EAD three working days prior to the conduct of practical assessment.
10.5	Transmit electronically all the results of assessment to the EAD, immediately and not exceeding 24 hours from the completion of assessment.
10.6	Transmit electronically a Summary Report of Assessment on the first working day of every month.
10.7	Report to the STCW Office any irregularity in the conduct of the practical assessment with a statement of facts detailing the whole incident and supported by documentary evidence.
10.8	Ensure the integrity and honesty of the personnel and officials involved in the conduct of practical assessment and adhere to the fair practice in conducting assessment with the ultimate aim of producing highly competitive seafarers;
10.9	Ensure that the Management, Staff, including the designated Assessors of a PAC must not be related by affinity or consanguinity up to the 4 th degree to any of its practical assessment candidates.
10.10	Ensure that all simulators and other equipment used in the conduct of practical assessment are well-maintained and are in good working condition.
10.11	Provide full cooperation to the Administration on surveillance or similar activities by providing all the necessary documents and making available all personnel involved in the assessment for possible inquiry.
10.12	Allow and cooperate for any unscheduled or unannounced inspections to be conducted by the Surveillance Division of the MARINA STCW Office.
10.13	Ensure that the required number of assessors are present during the conduct of practical assessment, and strictly adhere and comply with the guidelines stated in this Circular and all other applicable provisions in the Implementing Rules and Regulations for the RA 10635.

11. FEES, PENALTIES AND FINES:

The schedule of fees, penalties and fines shall be provided in a separate circular.

12. REPEALING CLAUSE:

Any provision of existing MARINA and STCWO Circulars, Policies, Rules and Regulations and other issuances inconsistent to this circular are hereby repealed and/or modified accordingly.

13. SEPARABILITY CLAUSE:

Should any provision or part of this Circular be declared by any competent authority to be invalid or unconstitutional, the remaining provisions or parts hereof shall remain in full force and effect and shall continue to be valid and effective.

14. EFFECTIVITY:

This STCW Circular shall take effect immediately on the day of its publication.

Manila, Philippines, 15 April, 2015.

Submitted:

(SGD) DR. ATTY. CAPT. ALVIN “TOR” TORMON
Executive Director

Approved:

(SGD) DR. MAXIMO Q. MEJIA, Ph.D.
Administrator