PCSA has around 50 members who own 800 ships, tankers, tugboats, and barges, among others, all over the country.
Carlos said shipyards, though not at the forefront, provide a fundamental role in the maritime industry. It’s not easy to close shipyards just because some local governments want to get rid of the facilities to pave the way for some projects, Carlos explained in a phone interview on March 2.“The idea is even with all the resources, it’s not that easy to set up a maritime hub. Moving to another location alone is not easy, plus there are permits that need to be complied with to build the facilities,” he said.
Citing government data, Mr. Marcos said the Philippines is the world’s primary source of maritime manpower constituting 25 percent of the global seafarers and bringing in a total of $6.71 billion in remittances in 2022.