Facilitation of maritime traffic is on the agenda at a national seminar being held in Manila, the Philippines (6-8 December), with thirty participants from ministries responsible for clearing ships, cargo, crew and passengers at ports of the Philippines, and private stakeholders. The workshop is assisting the Philippines with the ratification process of IMO’s Convention on Facilitation of International Maritime Traffic (FAL), which is designed to help prevent unnecessary delays in maritime traffic.
The workshop will cover recent developments in the FAL Convention that were adopted by the IMO’s FAL Committee in April 2016. The participants are also being advised on the benefits of using maritime single window and electronic data interchange in facilitating ship clearance.
The event is organized by IMO and the Philippine Ports Authority (PPA). IMO is represented by Julian Abril, Cagri Kucukyildiz, regional coordinator Josephine Uranza and consultant.