TIM eMagazine Volume 3 Issue 9 | Page 23

TIM eMagazine Vol.3 Issue 9 The award was presented by Capt. Maneesh Varma, Training and Accreditation Development Manager, The Nautical Institute APL In 2017, a total of 2,574 safety drills were conducted onboard 39 APL-operated vessels. Simulated vessel collisions, fire and pollution incidents, personnel overboard cases, search-and-rescue opera- tions, and ship-shore drills were conducted among others. APL also renders assistance to distressed third-party victims at sea through AMVER (Automated Mutual-assistance Vessel Rescue) Maritime Safety Programme to respond to emergencies at sea. APL deploys the latest navigation assistance tools and technologies to track and analyses wide-rang- ing nautical, meteorological and geographic information from ashore in real-time, 24/7. These live analytics of the vessels em- powered the onshore experts to assess, anticipate and mitigate any navigation-related risks to its vessel operations. Philippine Transmarine Carriers Answering the call to protect the marine envi- ronment and to contribute to ensuring and sustain- ing clean oceans, PTC has passionately taken a stand on the alarming severity of global plastic pollution. Through the launch of an aggressive campaign entitled, Plastic-Free Starts With Me, and in keeping with Life Below Water, one of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations, PTC has sparked ecological consciousness and be- haviour change among the communities it serves. The Philippines has been reported to be the world’s 3rd largest source of plastic waste in the ocean. This has driven PTC to address this disturbing reality by embarking on the broad- based adoption of the Ecobrick. The award was presented by Stephen Miller, Regional Director for South-East Asia and Senior Chaplain of MTS in Hong Kong, Mission to Seafarers 23