North of England P&I’s correspondent Pandiman Philippines has advised of an update regarding the recently reported vessel charges being requested in Zambales. Pandiman had initially notified Members of a “situation” on August 25th last year.
The Philippines Department of Justice stated in a legal opinion dated March 7th, and the Philippines Maritime Industry Authority (Marina) confirmed that any environmental charges imposed on international vessels transiting the coastal waters of Zambales in the Philippines would be illegal. North’s Members have been advised to ignore all requests from Zambales regarding any such charges.
Pandiman said that it had been made aware in the past three weeks of many ship owners being in receipt of invoices from the local government of Zambales, charging those ship owners for the transit of their vessels through the coastal waters. “It is clearly verified by both the Philippines Department of Justice (DoJ) and MARINA that these charges are not legal,” Pandiman said.