PRESS RELEASE
SFPCG-PR-097-2021
PH CONSUL GENERAL IN SF VISITS MARINE EXCHANGE OF SAN FRANCISCO ON WORLD MARITIME DAY
30 September 2021 – Philippine Consul General in San Francisco Neil Frank R. Ferrer paid a visit to the Marine Exchange of the San Francisco Bay Region and met with its Executive Director, Captain Lynn D. Korwatch, on World Maritime Day.
Capt. Korwatch explained the functions of the Marine Exchange, which is a non-profit, membership maritime service organization established in 1849. One of the oldest maritime service organizations, the Marine Exchange collects, analyzes and provides ship traffic information and situation for use of the maritime community.
“We are a neutral organization; we do not take sides. We dialogue and work with all partners to problem solve,” Capt. Korwatch said, adding that the Marine Exchange collects information through various sources, such as through ship agents and provides timely information to all stakeholders of the maritime industry.
Consul General Ferrer emphasized that the Philippines is a maritime and archipelagic nation. “We wish to engage with organizations, such as the Marine Exchange of San Francisco, to learn from them and share valuable information back home,” he said. Consul General Ferrer also met with the Marine Exchange of Alaska during a consular outreach mission in Juneau in July 2021.
The Marine Exchange of San Francisco Bay Area also works with the U.S. Coast Guard and the U.S. Maritime Administration and has counterparts in various states in the country. Capt. Korwatch also chairs the San Francisco Harbor Safety Committee, which is mandated by the State of California law to oversee the safe navigation and operation of tankers, barges and other vessels in all of the state’s harbors.
Capt. Korwatch is a member of the first class of women to attend a service academy in 1973 and the first woman to command a United States commercial vessel. She served as general manager of marine operations at Matson Navigation Co. where she managed the safe and efficient operation of the 14 vessels owned or operated by the company in the Pacific Basin trades, among her responsibilities. She sailed on an American cargo ship as a first female captain.
Also present in the meeting were Capt. Noapose S. Fotu, Senior Surveyor at National Cargo Bureau and Consul Vanessa G. Bago-Llona.
The Consulate General celebrated Maritime and Archipelagic National Awareness Month (MANA Mo) in September through flag raising ceremonies, showing of MANA Mo videos to its personnel and the general public by playing the same on its public screens, and posting of MANA Mo information on its social media. END
