THREE hundred motor banca captains and crew took their licensure examination for safety navigation conducted by the Maritime Industry Authority (Marina) at the Angasil Port in Barangay Mactan, Lapu-Lapu City yesterday.
“We are looking at their efficiency level on safety navigation and orientation of the tourists,” Marina official Nelson Mejia said of yesterday’s on-site registration and licensure examination.
Last month, hundreds of passengers find it hard to cross the Hilutongan channel going to Olango Island and its islets due to lack of motorized boats plying the route.
The Philippine Coast Guard caught many unregistered motor bancas.
The Lapu-Lapu City government provided four motorized boats while the Coast Guard helped fetch passengers to and from the island for a week for free while boat operators processed their permits.
The other day, both Marina and the Coast Guard conducted a seminar for boat operators, captains and crew at a hotel in Lapu-Lapu City as part of their requirement for registering their boats.