The Philippines, through the Maritime Industry Authority, has complied with the Sustainable Maritime Transport Cooperation or SMART-C Program, which aims to strengthen the country’s collaborative mechanisms with international bodies such as the International Maritime Organization and other nations like South Korea for a safe, advanced, and sustainable maritime sector.

During the recent inception meeting held at the Marina Building, Port Area, Manila, Marina Administrator Sonia Malaluan expressed appreciation to IMO and South Korea for extending their assistance to the Philippines through the SMART-C Program.

As defined by the IMO, the SMART-C Program also aims to promote sustainable maritime transport systems and the marine environment through knowledge-building and technical capacity in developing countries via long-term projects.

The program is composed of various projects, with the Philippines being one of the beneficiary countries, which include the SMART-C Women Project, SMART-C Traffic Project and SMART-C GHG Project.

The SMART-C Women Project aims to contribute to gender equality by increasing employment opportunities for women in the maritime sector in developing countries and providing training to help women advance their careers in related industries.

The SMART-C GHG Project, on the other hand, is intended to support developing countries in decarbonizing the shipping sector by establishing a management and analysis system for GHG emission data from ships.

Lastly, the SMART-C Traffic Project aims to develop, operate, and pilot an e-navigation service that can efficiently analyze and manage maritime safety information in an internet-based environment.

Malaluan conveyed the country’s best practices and cooperation projects with other government agencies on maritime safety, marine environment protection, sustainability, and technological innovation in the maritime sector.

At the meeting, Youngso Kim, deputy director of the Subdivision for Partnerships and Projects, Technical Cooperation and Implementation Division of the IMO, provided an overview of the SMART-C Program, as well as the initial developments and actions undertaken by the IMO.

Kim said the Philippines will benefit from the projects under the SMART-C Program.

Meanwhile, Lee Chikyoung, deputy director of the Maritime Industry and Technology Division, Ministry of Ocean and Fisheries of the Republic of Korea; Nam Heechae, Assistant Director of the Maritime Safety Policy Division, MOFR; and Da-young Park, researcher from the Korea Maritime Cooperation Center, discussed the roles and actions taken by South Korea for the realization of the SMART-C Program.

The inception meeting of the SMART-C Program on 29 February was attended by representatives from Marina, the Philippine Coast Guard, the National Mapping and Resource Information Authority and the Women in Maritime Association Asia.