Marina wants new snap-on lifejackets as standard equipment on ships

To make lifejackets easy to use during disasters, maritime authorities have required seagoing vessels to replace the old ones with snap-on type starting January 1, 2010. Maritime Industry Authority (Marina) chief Maria Elena Bautista said Sunday that the new type should replace the old lifejackets that require complicated procedures. “Starting January 1, nire-require naming lifejacket yung snap-on, wala nang tali-tali, para mas madali isuot (Starting January 1, we will require that the lifejackets be of the snap-on type, instead of the ones having so many strings and laces)," Bautista said in an interview on dzBB radio. She said the new lifejackets must have the Marina’s logo, as well as the date of approval for easier monitoring and inspection by authorities. The lifejackets should comply with international safety standards, she added. “Batay sa international convention kailangan na ang lifejacket ay madaling isuot, ‘di na kailangan mag-isip pa paano gamitin - dapat instinctive na. Snap sa harapan, vest na buo ang likod. ‘Yan ang lifejacket. Ang luma, iikot pa sa likod at itatali pa (International conventions require that lifejackets be easy to wear, with less thinking required. The vest should be snap-on at the front. The present lifejackets require so many maneuvers just to be worn securely)," she said. Lifejackets to be used in vessels that ply nighttime routes must also be equipped with emergency whistles and flashlights, she added. “By January 1 mas magiging maayos ang sistema (We promise that by January 1, the system will be improved)," she said. The Marina is now leading an investigation into the latest maritime tragedy involving SuperFerry 9, which tilted and sank off Zamboanga Peninsula last September 6. At least nine people were killed while 900 were rescued in the disaster. [See story: 9 people were killed, 900 rescued as SuperFerry 9 sinks off Zamboanga] Bautista said that when she was still Transportation Undersecretary, she already ordered a review of the lifejackets used in sea vessels as early as 2008. “Kasama 'yan sa ipina-review ko mula pa noong Princess of the Stars tragedy, para by January 1 ganoon na dapat ang sistema (I ordered a review of the lifejackets when the MV Princess of the Stars capsized in June 2008, so by January 1 our system would be safer)," she said. - GMANews.TV