Pursuant to Act 3846, as amended, Executive Order No. 546 Series of 1979, and in conformity with the 1974 International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SO- LAS), as amended, the National Telecommunications Commission (Commission) hereby promulgates the following guidelines for the licensing of shipborne LRIT equipment in accordance with Chapter V/Regulation 19-1 of SOLAS Convention.

Section 1. Coverage. This Memorandum Circular shall apply to all Philippine registered ships engaged in international voyages such as:

1.1 Passenger ships, including high-speed passenger craft;

1.2 Cargo ships, including high-speed craft of 300 gross tonnage and upwards; and

1.3 Mobile offshore drilling units.

Section 2. Mandatory Dates. All ships as specified herein below shall be fitted with a system to automatically transmit the information specified in Section 3 as follows:

2.1 Ships constructed on or after 31 December 2008;

2.2 Ships constructed before 31 December 2008 and certified for operations:

2.2.1 In sea areas A1 and A2, as defined in regulations IV/2.1.12 and IV/2.1.13; or

2.2.2 In sea areas A1, A2 and A3, as defined in regulations IV/2.1.12, IV/2.1.13 and IV/2.1.14;

not later than the first survey of the radio installation after 31 December 2008;

2.2.3Ships constructed before 31 December 2008 and certified for operations in sea areas A1, A2, A3 and A4, as defined in regulations IV/2.1.12, IV/2.1.13, IV/2.1.14 and IV/2.1.15, not later than the first survey of the radio installation after 01 July 2009. However, these ships shall comply with the provisions of subparagraph 2.2.2 above whilst they operate within sea areas A1, A2 and A3.

Ships operating exclusively within coastal sea area A1 and which are fitted with an Automatic Identification System (AIS) shall be exempt from the coverage of this provision.

Section 3. Technical Parameters and Performance Standards

3.1 Subject to the provisions of Section 2 above, ships shall automatically transmit the following long-range identification and tracking information:

3.1.1 The identity of the ship;
3.1.2 The position of the ship (latitude and longitude); and
3.1.3 The date and time of the position provided.

3.2 In addition to the general requirements contained in Assembly Resolution A.694(17) on the Recommendations on General Requirements for Shipborne Radio Equipment which forms part of the Global Maritime Distress and Safety System (GMDSS) and Electronic Navigational Aids (reference e), the shipborne equipment should be compliant with the minimum requirements as follows:

3.2.1 Shall be capable of automatically and without human intervention transmitting the ship ™s LRIT information at 6-hour intervals to an LRIT Data Center;
3.2.2 Shall be capable of being configured remotely to transmit LRIT information at variable intervals;
3.2.3 Shall be capable of transmitting information following receipt of polling commands;
3.2.4 Must be able to interface directly to the shipborne global navigation satellite system (GNSS) equipment or must have internal positioning capability;
3.2.5 Shall be supplied with energy from the main and emergency source of electrical power; and
3.2.6 Shall be tested for electromagnetic compatibility taking into account the recommendations developed by the International Maritime Organization (IMO).

3.3 In addition to the provisions specified in Section 3.2 above, the shipborne equipment should provide the functionalities specified in the Table below:

Parameter	Comments
Shipborne Equipment Identifier	The identifier used by the shipborne equipment
Positional Data	The GNSS position (latitude and longitude) of the ship (based on the WGS84 datum).
	Position: The equipment should be capable of transmitting GNSS position (longitude and latitude) of the ship (based on WGS84 datum) as prescribed by SOLAS regulations V/19-1, without human interaction on board the ship.
	On-demand[1] position reports: The equipment should be capable of responding to a request to transmit LRIT information on demand without human interaction onboard the ship, irrespective of where the ship is located.
	Pre-scheduled[2] position reports: The equipment should be capable of being remotely configured to transmit LRIT information at intervals ranging from a minimum of 15 minutes to periods of 6 hours to the LRIT Data Center, irrespective of where the ship is located and without human interaction on board the ship.
Time Stamp 1	The date and time[3] associated with the GNSS position.
	The equipment should be capable of transmitting the time associated with the GNSS position with each transmission of LRIT information.

3.4 The shipborne equipment should transmit the LRIT information using a communication system which provides coverage in all areas where the ship operates.

Section 4. Equipment Conformance Test

4.1 The Conformance Test should be conducted by any IMO recognized Application Service Provider (ASP) or by any testing ASP appointed by the Administration.

4.2 On satisfactory completion of the Conformance Tests, the ASP conducting the Test should issue a Conformance Test Report on behalf of the Administration, and Certification for licensing purposes.

4.3 The Conformance Test should be conducted within a period of three (3) months prior to the date on which a ship would need to demonstrate compliance with the requirements of Regulation V/19-1.

4.4 Stand alone shipborne LRIT terminals must be initially activated by the Flag ™s authorized Point Service Activation (PSA) entity.

Section 5. Licensing Requirements

5.1 Philippine registered ships that are mandated to be equipped and fitted with LRIT system shall be required to secure necessary permits and/or licenses as specified hereunder:

For Stand Alone LRIT Terminal

5.1.1 Permit to Purchase;
5.1.2 Permit to Possess/Construct;
5.1.3 Radio Station License;
5.1.4 Valid General Operator Certificate (GOC);
5.1.5 Certificate of Activation by the PSA; and
5.1.6 Certification and Conformance Test Result issued by recognized ASP

For Existing INMARS AT - C or Mini - C

5.1.7 Certification and Conformance Test Result issued by recognized ASP

5.2 Application forms are available and can be secured at the Radio Regulations and Licensing Department/Safety and Special Radio Services Division of this Commission.

Section 6. Fees and Charges

Filing Fee - P180.00 per station
Permit to Purchase - P360.00 per station
Permit to Possess - P360.00 per station
Construction Permit - P1200.00 per station
Annual License Fee - P1440.00 per station/year
Annual Inspection Fee - P1200.00 per station/year

Section 7. Administrative Sanctions. Any person, company or corporation found violating any provisions of this Circular, after due notice and hearing, shall be imposed appropriate administrative and penal sanctions for each violation in accordance with existing laws, rules and regulations as follows:

First Offense - PhP 5,000.00/offense
Second and Succeeding Offense/s - PhP10,000.00/offense

Section 8. Repealing Clause. All Memorandum Circulars, Rules and Regulations and other issuances inconsistent with this Memorandum Circular are hereby amended, repealed or modified accordingly.

Section 9. Effectivity . This Circular shall take effect fifteen (15) days after publication in a newspaper of general circulation and three (3) certified copies furnished the University of the Philippines (UP) Law Center.

Adopted: 13 Jan. 2009

(SGD.) RUEL VILLA CANOBAS
Commissioner

(SGD.) JORGE V. SARMIENTO
Deputy Commissioner

(SGD.) JAIME M. FORTES, JR.
Deputy Commissioner

 

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^[1] On-demand position report means transmission of LRIT information as a result of either receipt of polling command or of emote configuration of the equipment so as to transmit at interval other than the preset ones.

^[2] Pre-scheduled position report means transmission of LRIT information at the preset transmit intervals.

^[3] All times should be indicated as Universal Co-ordinated Time (UTC)