The second joint winner was Philippines Maritime Industry Authority (MARINA) for the new Philippines Seafarer eID card.
One of the issues considered crucial for improving maritime security is ensuring that seafarers have documents enabling their ‘positive verifiable identification’. Many countries require such identification before they are prepared to grant special facilities enabling seafarers to carry out the international professional moves necessary for their work and well-being.
In 2005 the International Labour Organisation (ILO) adopted common standards for seafarers’ identity documents through the implementation of ICAO Document 9303. The new standards, known as Seafarers’ Identity Documents Convention (Revised), 2003 (No.185), introduced modern security features to help resolve the urgent question of seafarers being refused admission into the territory of countries visited by their ships for the purposes of shore leave, and transit and transfer to join or change ships.
Philippines has the largest seafarer population in the world. In order to facilitate seafarers’ access to land and basic services the Philippines Maritime Industry Authority launched a brand new eSID card.
The card is fully compliant with ILO requirements and features a number of state-of-the-art security features including holographic images, guilloche background, coloured photo and hidden personalised image technology from Jura (IPI). The card has a 10-year lifespan and integrates a contactless chip with Machine-Readable Zone (MRZ) printed on the back.
MARINA went the extra mile and implemented SURYS’ digital breakthrough technology Photometrix™, a digital seal for offline identity picture authentication. The technology protects the cardholder’s picture by guaranteeing its authenticity through an encrypted 2D barcode printed on the back which can be read with a standard smartphone to confirm it hasn’t been tampered with. Photometrix™ has been developed with the Privacy by Design standards in mind and will allow seafarers to access various services while keeping the entire ownership of their identity.
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