1
Authority


a.       RA 5173 empowers the Philippine Coast Guard to establish, develop, maintain and operate aids to navigation and to establish navigational lanes.

b.      Convention on International Regulation for Preventing Collisions at Sea (COLREGS) 1972 as amended by International Maritime Organization (IMO) Twelfth Regular Session on 19 November 1991.


2
Purpose


To prescribe sea lane between Manila South Harbor Anchorage to Sangley Point and Fort San Felipe, Cavite City in order to ensure safety of navigation and to delimit area where obstructions may be placed.


3
Boundaries of the Sea Lane


The sea lane shall be bounded by two imaginary lines extending from Markers A, B, and C respectively, and from the Sangley Aero Light to Jetty No. 3, South Harbor, Manila along the Fort San Felipe-Sangley Point-Manila Anchorage as shown in the Annex. *


4
Markers


a.         The markers defining points A, B, and C shall be made of concrete which will be lighted accordingly.

b.         There will be three markers: A, B, and C which will be located amid the sea lane at designated points as follows:

Marker A - Lat 14 degs 20 mins 31 secs North Long 120 degs 55 mins 24 secs East

Marker B - Lat 14 degs 30 mins 20 secs North Long 120 degs 55 mins 24 secs East

Marker C - Lat 14 degs 32 mins 05 secs North Long 120 degs 56 mins 55 secs East

c.         Markers A and B shall be colored green and Marker C will be red.


5
Rules of Passage


a.     The rule of passage is to keep right within the sea lane. Vessels proceeding to Cavite shall pass at least 500 meters west of the line of markers. (Points A, B and C)

b.     A vessel shall normally join or leave the sea lane at the termination of the sea lane, but when joining or leaving from the side, it must do so at a small angle to the general direction of traffic flow as practicable.

c.      A vessel shall, as far as practicable, avoid crossing the sea lane but if obliged to do so shall cross at right angle of the general direction of traffic flow.

d.      No vessel shall anchor east of the line connecting the south entrance light and Sangley aero light within the sea lane.

e.     A vessel engaged in fishing shall not impede the passage of any vessel within the sea lane.

f.      In case of emergency and as far as practicable, a vessel shall steer beyond any of the boundaries of the sea lane.

g.      Nothing in these rules shall inhibit a ship from taking a course west of the sea lane if the safety of the vessel so dictates.


6
Prohibition


a.         No fishtrap, fishpen or structure of any kind shall be laid or established along or west of the sea lane.

b.         The owner of any fishtrap, fishpen or any structure within the sea lane will be required to remove such obstruction within a reasonable period of time. Otherwise, such structure will be removed at the expense of the owner.


7
Penalty


a.      Any unauthorized construction of fixed structure within the sea lane as herein established shall constitute a violation of this Memorandum Circular and shall subject the offender to an administrative fine of not less than Five Thousand Pesos (P5,000.00) but not exceeding Ten Thousand Pesos (P10,000.00).

b.      Violation of rules of passage within the sea lanes shall subject the master and/or shipowner to a fine of five thousand pesos (P5,000.00) or suspension of license or both.


8
Rescission


All Memorandum Circulars or directives inconsistent with the provisions of this Memorandum Circular are hereby rescinded.


9
Effectivity


This Memorandum Circular shall take effect 2 weeks after submission to the UP Law Center or two weeks after its publication in a newspaper of general circulation. However, the removal of obstructions shall be done within six (6) months after the completion of the concrete markers.

Adopted: 16 Nov. 1993


(Sgd.) CARLOS L. AGUSTIN
Commodore AFP

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* Text available upon request at the Office of the National Administrative Register (ONAR), U.P. Law Center, Diliman, Quezon City