The Senate Blue Ribbon Committee has ordered the full implementation of the “no-fault insurance” policy that would compel ship owners to pay the claims of all victims of recent sea tragedies whether they are listed in a manifest or not.

The Senate Blue Ribbon Committee has ordered the full implementation of the “no-fault insurance” policy that would compel ship owners to pay the claims of all victims of recent sea tragedies whether they are listed in a manifest or not.

Sen. Richard Gordon, head of the panel investigating the recent maritime disasters that occurred late last year, said he will see to it that this policy would be included by the Maritime Industry Authority (Marina) in its system.

The senator chided Marina and the Insurance Commission (IC) for failing to protect the public, especially the victims of sea tragedies, because their policies seem to favor ship owners more than the passengers.

“We cannot understand why the Marina and the Insurance Commission, in order to cure the evil of overloading, created a greater evil where the passengers who are not included in the manifest but are victims of maritime tragedies will totally have no way of recovering from insurance companies,” Gordon said.

He also called for an immediate remedy to other problems surrounding the maritime industry, including the non-compliance to the submission of a complete passenger manifest before departure, the continued use of inland water ships in open seas, the manning of passenger ships by unlicensed captains, and the wanton disregard of safety rules such as proper lashing of vehicles in roll on-roll off vessels.

We must ensure that there will be no deaths, no accidents at sea just because of the incompetence and greed of a few. The policy right now is pro-insurance company, pro-ship owner, and unfortunately, it is almost anti-passenger,” said Gordon.