Covid-19 test lab for crew change hubs now operational

PPA General Manager Jay Santiago. (Photo courtesy of FOI Philippines via PNA)

MANILA – A reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) molecular testing laboratory dedicated to testing seafarers for the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) is now operational, the Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) announced Wednesday.

In a Facebook post, PPA general manager Jay Santiago said the laboratory at South Harbor in Port of Manila is designated as the “primary seafarer processing center” for all inbound and outbound seafarers in Metro Manila and neighboring provinces.

“The South Harbor Molecular Laboratory is intended to serve the testing requirements for the crew change of seafarers in the Port of Manila and Port Capinpin in Orion, Bataan, and soon, in the Port of Batangas,” Santiago said.

The PPA said the laboratory has a daily testing capacity of about 2,000 with a 24 to 48-hour turnaround time for test results.

The facility, it said, also provides a “one-stop-shop” that houses satellite offices of the Maritime Industry Authority, Bureau of Immigration, Bureau of Quarantine, Bureau of Customs, and the Philippine Coast Guard to ease the processing of travel requirements for inbound and outbound seafarers.

In the last four months, it said almost a thousand ships have called at the Port of Manila for crew changes, noting that the laboratory would further ease and ensure the safe movement of both local and foreign seafarers in the country.

To date, the country has three ports dedicated to crew change or the replacement of seafarers aboard a ship—the Port of Manila, Port of Capinpin, and Subic Bay Freeport.

Aside from crew change hubs, the Department of Foreign Affairs has also initiated the establishment of a “green lane” for seafarers that would accelerate their movement and support the international maritime sector in the process.