Preventive Maintenance Practices for Vessel Machinery at Nasipit Port, Agusan Del Norte

Preventive maintenance is central to vessel machinery reliability, yet no published study has examined how engineering crew experience relates to specific maintenance practices at Nasipit Port, an international base port in Agusan del Norte, Philippines. This study assessed the current state of preventive maintenance practices for vessel machinery at Nasipit Port and determined whether crew experience level relates to how consistently these practices are performed. The study employed a quantitative descriptive design. Respondents were 24 engineering crew members from eight vessels docked at Nasipit Port (six passenger and two cargo vessels), comprising eight chief engineers, eight fourth engineers, and eight engine ratings, surveyed using a validated, adapted questionnaire and analyzed using frequency and percentage distributions, weighted means, and t-tests. Chief engineers were the most experienced rank (62.5% with 11 or more years), while all engine ratings reported five years or fewer of experience. Regular inspections and cleaning and maintenance received the highest ratings (weighted mean = 3.7 each, "always"), followed by replacement of worn parts and calibration and adjustment (3.5 each), with lubrication practices rated lowest (3.4, "frequently"); the grand mean of 3.6 indicated practices are performed "always." Only regular inspections showed a significant difference by years of experience (t = −2.10, p = 0.041); the remaining four domains showed no significant difference, indicating standardized application regardless of seniority. These findings suggest that inspection quality, specifically, depends on accumulated, experience-based judgment, pointing to structured inspection-specific training as a targeted opportunity for less experienced crew at Nasipit Port.