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The Panamanian consular offices said they are receiving the application of all seafarers for transitional certificates on a maximum of two weeks from the date of application to give time to process "deficient" documents.
Since there are many applicants submitting deficient documents, according to the Panama consulate, this brings delays in the evaluation process until the applicant submits all the required documents.
But, it says, there are also many manning agencies which submit documents with no deficiencies at all allowing the consular office in Manila to process applications faster. The statement was issued in reaction to the long period in processing seafarers' certificates applying for jobs on ships flying Panamanian flag.
The only job of the Panamanian consular offices is to process such documents for a fee established by the Panamanian Maritime Authority. The fee is the same for all the Panamanian consular offices worldwide, according to the Panama consulate.
The transitional certificate, which has a validity of three months, will then process all the information given by the applicant in order to have the permanent certificate.
"It is the best intention of the Panamanian Consulate to help out given full cooperation to the Filipino seamen. There will be some changes along the line, but they all aim to make the Filipino seamen comply with the new standards of the STCW 1995 Convention," the statement said.
"There will probably be some countries which will not comply by the year 2002, but our consular office in Manila together with the Panamanian administration will do everything possible to make this happen in the Philippines and become part of the white list."
It says that since Janaury of this year, the Panamanian administration has been co-validating the certification of the seaman's country until IMO recognizes what administrations are complying with the 1995 Convention.
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