Privacy Notice

This Privacy Notice and its Addendum(s) (“Privacy Notice”) describe how Harbor Star Shipping Services, Inc. its respective subsidiaries, affiliates, associated companies, and jointly controlled entities (communally “Harbor Star”, “we”, “us”, or “our”) collect, use, process, and disclose your Personal Data through the use of Harbor Star’s platform, website, as well as products, services, features, and other services, nationally or globally, operated by Harbor Star (collectively, “Services”)

The Notice applies to our consumers, agents, clients, suppliers, partners, contractors, and service providers.

Harbor Star Shipping Services Inc. is the leading integrated maritime service provider in the Philippines. Its service lines include:

Harbor Assistance – Support for safe vessel navigation and docking

This service includes providing guidance and support to vessels as they enter and exit ports, ensuring compliance with safety regulations and efficient maneuvering.

Lighterage – Efficient transfer of cargo between vessels and shore

Lighterage services facilitate the transfer of goods between a larger vessel and the shore, often using smaller boats, to enhance logistics and cargo handling.

Towage – Reliable towing services for maritime operations

This service involves towing vessels that may require assistance, ensuring they reach their destination safely and efficiently, including emergency towing operations.

Ship Salvage – Expert recovery of distressed vessels

Ship salvage services focus on recovering vessels that have sunk or are stranded, minimizing environmental impact and restoring maritime safety

Ship Management – Comprehensive management of maritime assets

This service encompasses the operational management of ships, including crew management, maintenance, and compliance with maritime regulations to ensure optimal performance.

Diving – Professional underwater services for various needs

Diving services include underwater inspections, repairs, and maintenance, catering to various industries such as construction, salvage, and environmental monitoring.

Underwater Marine Works – Specialized underwater construction and repair

This service involves underwater construction projects, such as installing structures or conducting repairs, utilizing advanced technology and skilled divers to ensure project success.

“Personal Data” is any information that can be used to identify you or from which you are identifiable. This includes but is not limited to your name, nationality, telephone number, bank and credit card details, personal interests, email address, image, government-issued identification numbers, biometric data, race, date of birth, marital status, religion, health information, vehicle, corporate identity, company profile, insurance information, employment information, and financial information.

We typically collect, use, disclose, or otherwise process your Personal Data in accordance with this Privacy Notice with your consent, or in compliance with applicable laws, such as where:

1. It is required for us to comply with legal requirements;
2. It is required for us to enter into or perform a contract with you; and/or
3. For our legitimate interests or the legitimate interest of any other persons, including but not limited to the purposes set forth in this Privacy Notice.

I. COLLECTION OF PERSONAL DATA

We collect Personal Data about you in the ways listed below. We may also combine Personal Data collected via these various channels:

1. Complete a user profile or registration form (such as your name, contact information, company profile, and other information where needed);
2. Provide information to assess your eligibility to avail of our services;
3.  Interact with our online platform and website;
4. Participate in contests or events organized by us (such as the pictures, audio, or videos you may submit, which may include images of yourself)
5. Verify your identity through various means; and
6. Fill up demographic information in surveys.

When our services are used

Personal Data may be collected through the normal operation or use of our Platform, Website, and Services. Some examples are the following:

1. Your location information;
2. Feedback, ratings, and compliments;
3. Transactional information;
4. Information about how you interacted with our Platform, Website, or Services;
5. Device information, file, platform, and website names and version;
6. Telematics Data;
7. Personal data you enter into our platform or website when you use our platform or website features; and
8. Personal data that may be captured through you interaction with us, our platform or website.

From other sources

We may collect Personal Data, including but not limited to your name, contact information, company profile, and other identification information where needed from other sources. Such sources include:

1. Referral programs and/or services;
2. Our business partners, such as fleet partners, transport partners, and payment providers;
3. Insurance and financial providers;
4. Publicly available or government sources of data;
5. When our users add you as an emergency contact;
6. When our users add you as a recipient or beneficiary of any use of our Services;
7. When you use our Platform or Website; and
8. Marketing services providers, or partners.

Sensitive Personal Data

Some of the Personal Data that we collect may be sensitive in nature. This may include Personal Data pertaining to your race, national ID information, religious beliefs, background information, including financial and criminal records, where legally permissible, health data, disability, marital status, and biometric data, as applicable. We collect sensitive Personal Data only with your consent and/or in strict compliance with applicable laws. In the event that you are required to furnish any documentation or information to us for any purpose which may contain such Sensitive Personal Data, which is not required that purpose, you agree to redact such Sensitive Personal Data before providing such documentation or information to us.

When you provide the Personal Data of other individuals to us

In some situations, you may provide the Personal Data of other individuals, such as your spouse, family members, workmates, colleagues, or friends, to us. For instance, you may add them as your emergency contact, when you use the Platform or Website, or add them as beneficiaries of any use of our Services. If you provide us with their Personal Data, you represent and warrant that you have obtained their consent for their Personal Data to be collected, used, and disclosed as set in this Privacy Notice.

II. USE OF PERSONAL DATA

Harbor Star may use your Personal Data for the following purposes set out in the list below. Additionally, if you use Harbor Star in various capacities, we may link your Personal Data collected across various capacities to facilitate your use of our Services and for the purposes described below:

Providing Services and Features

Your Personal Data will be used to provide, personalize, maintain, and improve our Platform and Website. This includes using your Personal Data to:

1. Engage you to provide you with Services across our various business verticals;
2. Create, administer, and update your account;
3. Process, manage, or verify your eligibility for our application of services, products, promotions, rewards, and subscriptions with Harbor Star;
4. Conduct due diligence checks and risk assessment and analysis;
5. Verify your identity and age, where necessary;
6. Validate the services procured or engaged;
7. Offer, obtain, provide, facilitate or maintain insurance or financing solutions;
8. Track the progress of the services provided and detect anomalies, variations, or issues with the Services provided;
9. Allow you to participate in the loyalty programs or marketing activities organized by us or in collaboration with our partners;
10. Personalize your experience with the Platform or Website;
11. Make your experience more seamless, such as automatically filling in your registration information, such as your name or phone number, from one Service to another Service or when you participate in our surveys;
12. Perform internal operations necessary to provide our Services, including troubleshooting software bugs and operational problems, conducting data analysis, testing and research, monitoring and analyzing usage and activity trends;
13. Protect the security and integrity of the Services and any facilities or equipment used to make the Services available;
14. Enable communications between us and our clients;
15. Invite you to participate in our surveys and studies;
16. Enable our partners to manage and allocate fleet resources; and
17. Fulfil the services to you as a data processor, where you have provided consent to the data controller for such services to be rendered.

Safety and Security

We use your data to ensure the safety and security of our Services, Platform, and all users. This includes:

1. Careful screening of crew and personnel before enabling to render Service to you and other clients;
2. Identifying unsafe practices of rendering the Service, and providing personalized feedback from you and other clients;
3.  Verifying your identity when you use the Platform or Website;
4. Using device, location, profile, usage and other Personal Data to prevent, detect, and combat fraud or unsafe activities;
5. Location sharing of Services rendered to you and other clients, in the event of emergency or urgency; and
6. Monitoring compliance with our terms and conditions and policies.

User Support

We use Personal Data to resolve user support issues. For example, we may:

1. Investigate and address concerns;
2. Monitor and improve our user support responses;
3. Respond to questions, comments, and feedback; and
4. Inform you about steps taken to resolve user support issues.

Research, Development, and Security

We may use the Personal Data we collect for testing, research, analysis, and product development. This allows us to understand and analyze your needs and preferences, protect your Personal Data, improve and enhance the safety and security of our Services, develop new features, products, and services, and facilitate the development of insurance and finance solutions. 

Legal Purposes

We may use the Personal Data we collect for legal purposes, such as to investigate and resolve claims or disputes, detect, prevent, or prosecute crime, or as allowed or required by applicable law. 

We may also use your Personal Data when we are required, advised, recommended, expected, or requested to do so by our legal advisors or any local or foreign legal, regulatory, governmental, or other authority/

For instance, we may use your Personal Data to, viz:

1. Comply with court orders or other legal, governmental, or regulatory requirements;
2. Enforce our Terms and Service or other agreements; and
3. Protect our rights or property in the event of a claim or dispute.

Marketing and Promotions

We may use your Personal Data to send you marketing communications relating to customized products or services, that may be of interest or relevance based on your profile, or Harbor Star’s partners, sponsors, and advertisers’ products, services, events, and promotions. For example, we may:

1. Send you special offers that may be of interest or relevance to you across all of Harbor Star’s service offerings;
2. Send you alerts, newsletters, updates, mailers, promotional materials, special privileges, festive greetings; and
3. Notify, invite, and manage your participation in our events or activities.
   

We may communicate such marketing to you by various means, where applicable, including SMS, chat applications, push notifications, call, and by email.

If you wish to unsubscribe to receiving of such marketing communications, please click on the unsubscribe link in the relevant email or message. Alternatively, you may also update your preference in our Platform or Website settings. 

User/Client Published Content

If you publish content, such as review, feedback, or comment, on Harbor Star’s Platform or Website, it will be shown publicly along with your personal data, such as profile name, photos, and other information you choose to include in your content.

III. DISCLOSURE OF PERSONAL DATA

We need to share Personal Data with various parties for the Purposes. These Parties include:

1. Other users;
2. With third parties;
   
   1. With third parties related to your use of Harbor Star services;
   2. With administrators of Harbor Star accounts that you may use;
   3. With subsidiaries and affiliates; 
   4. With Harbor Star’s external service providers and business partners;
   5. With our legal advisors and governmental authorities.

Business Transfers

We may share your Personal Data with other parties, in connection with any acquisitions, sales, mergers, joint ventures, consolidation, restructuring, financing, or any other type of business transactions. Your Personal Data will however remain subject to our obligation in any pre-existing Privacy Notice that you have agreed to.

IV. RETENTION OF PERSONAL DATA

We retain your Personal Data for the period necessary to fulfill the Purposes outlined in this Notice unless a longer retention period is required or allowed by law. Once your Personal Data is no longer necessary for the Services or Purposes, or we no longer have a legal or business purpose for retaining your Personal Data, we take steps to erase, destroy, anonymize, or prevent access or use of such Personal Data for any purposes other than compliance with this Notice, or for purposes of safety, security, fraud prevention, and detection, in accordance with the requirements of applicable laws. 

V. INTERNATIONAL TRANSFERS OF PERSONAL DATA

Your Personal Data may be transferred from the country, state, and city (“Home Country”) in which you are present while using our Services to another country, state, and city (“Alternate Country”).

When we transfer your Personal Data from your Home Country to an Alternate Country, we will comply with our legal and regulatory obligations in relation to your Personal Data, including having a lawful basis for transferring Personal Data and putting appropriate safeguards in place to ensure an adequate level of protection for the Personal Data. We will also ensure that the recipient in the Alternate Country is obliged to protect your Personal Data at a standard of protection comparable to the protection under applicable laws. 

Our lawful basis will be either consent, we may ask your consent to transfer your Personal Data from your Home Country to the Alternate Country at the time you provide your Personal Data, or one of the safeguards permissible by laws. 

VI. COOKIES, RELATED TECHNOLOGIES, AND ADVERTISING ON THIRD-PARTY PLATFORMS

Cookies

Harbor Star, and third parties with whom we partner, may use cookies, web beacons, tags, scripts, local shared objects such as HTML5, advertising identifiers, and similar technologies, such as software development kits (SDKs), which have similar functions to cookies and which may be installed in the Harbor Star Platform or Website to allow partners to collect certain information about your interaction with the Harbor Star Platform or Website, in connection with your use of the Platform or Website, which may be persistent or stored only during and individual session on your browsers or devices. 

Cookies may have unique identifiers, and reside, among other places, on your computer or mobile device, in emails we send to you, and on our web pages. Cookies may be used for various purposes such as:

1. Provide the essential, basic functions of the use of our Website, Platform, or Services.
2. Authenticate you, or remember your user preferences and settings;
3. Delivering and measuring the effectiveness of advertising campaigns, such as by measuring the number of views, visits, or clickthroughs;
4. Analyze site traffic and trends;
5. Serve you relevant advertisements across other apps and websites owned by other companies, whether by us or by other advertisers; and
6. Enhance user interface and experience by generally understanding the online behaviors and interests of users who interact with our Platform, Website, or Services.

Harbor Star may allow third parties to use Cookies on the Website, Platform, or Service to collect the same type of Personal Data for the same purposes as Harbor Star does for itself. Third Parties may be able to associate the Personal Data they collect with other Personal Data they have about you from other sources. We do not necessarily have access to or control over the Cookies they use. 

Disabling the Collection of Cookies on our Websites

You have the right to choose to disable, block, or deactivate cookies. Please note that however refusal or removal of some cookies could affect the availability, functionality, or use of our Platform, Website, or Services. 

You may adjust your internet browser settings to disable, block, or deactivate cookies, delete your browsing history or clear the cache from your internet browser. The settings may be contained within the “History”, “Preferences”, “Settings”, or “Privacy” sections of your Internet browser, or may otherwise consult the help section of your Internet browser for more information.

Disabling the Display of Targeted Ads on Other Platforms.

We may facilitate the display of targeted advertising on other platforms, such as on other online platforms that you may be a user of.

You may be able to limit our use of your Personal Data to display targeted advertisements on behalf of our advertisers, by adjusting your preference through our Platform or Website. Depending on the type of phone and operating software that you are using, you may be granted the option to disable our use of mobile identifiers and the ability to track you across platforms and websites owned by other companies by adjusting the setting available on the Platform, Website, or Service. Through adjusting the setting on the Platform or Website, you can typically reset, delete, limit, and/or otherwise restrict the use of such mobile identifiers. 

Although we will not use your Personal Data to show you such targeted advertisements on other platforms, you may still see generic ads that appear relevant to you. This may be because we have engaged third-party advertisers/platforms to display ads to users of specific attributes or demographic makeups who may find them relevant. You may be able to limit seeing these advertisements through managing your preference on these Platform or Website. 

VII. PROTECTION OF PERSONAL DATA

We will take reasonable legal, organization, and technical measures to ensure that your Personal Data is protected. This includes measure to prevent Personal Data from getting used or accessed in an authorized accessed in an unauthorized way. We limit access to your Personal Data to our employees on a need-to-know basis. Those processing your Personal Data will only do so in an unauthorized manner and giving is required to treat your information with confidentiality. 

We understand that transmitting information via the internet is not completely secure. While we take steps to protect your personal data using industry-standard security measures, we cannot guarantee the security of any information transmitted through our website.

VIII. YOUR RIGHTS WITH RESPECT TO YOUR PERSONAL DATA

In accordance with applicable laws and regulations, you may be entitled to:

1. Inquire about the processing of your Personal Data and be provided with a copy of it;
2. In some cases, request the correction and/or deletion of your Personal Data;
3. In some cases, request the restriction of or object to the processing of your Personal Data;
4. Withdraw your consent to the processing of your Personal Data within our possession or control, and where we are processing your Personal Data based on your consent;
5. Request receipt or transmission to another organization, in a machine-readable form, of the Personal Data that you provided to us where we are using your Personal Data based on consent or performance of a contract; and
6. Complain to the relevant data privacy authority if your data privacy rights are violated, or if you have suffered detriment as a result of unlawful processing of your Personal Data.

Where you are given the option to share your Personal Data with us, you can always choose not to do so. If we have requested your consent to process and you later choose to withdraw it, we will respect that choice in accordance with our legal obligations. However, choosing not to share your Personal Data with us, withdrawing your consent to our use of it or to your agreement with our Privacy Notice could mean that we are unable to perform the actions necessary to achieve the purposes of processing described in Section II or that you are unable to make use of the Platform, Website, or Service provided.

After you have chosen to withdraw your consent, we may be able to continue to process your Personal Data to the extent required or otherwise permitted by applicable laws and regulations.

We will screen and verify all requests beforehand. In order to verify your authority to make the request, we may require you to provide supporting information or documentation to corroborate the request. Once verified, we will give effect to your request within the timelines prescribed by applicable laws.

IX. OBLIGATION OF THE PARTIES

The Client/User and Harbor Star shall each:

1. Individually inform their data subjects of how each processes Personal Data and allow their data subjects to exercise their rights under the Data Privacy Act of 2012 of the Philippines;
2. Comply with the obligations applicable to each party under the relevant Data Privacy Laws when processing any Personal Data of the Proposed or Authorized Client/User;
3. Obtain the necessary consent, if applicable, for it to disclose Personal Data to facilitate the provision of Harbor Star for business features; and
4. Implement appropriate legal, technical, and organizational measures to protect Personal Data against unauthorized or unlawful processing and unauthorized loss, destruction, damage, alteration, or disclosure, as well as any breach or attempted breach of its security measures.
   

X. AMENDMENTS AND UPDATES

Harbor Star may modify, update, or amend the terms in this Privacy Notice at any time. Such amendments shall be notified through the Application and/or other appropriate means at least five (5) business days before the effective date. The updated version will be posted on the website www.harborstar.com.ph/about/privacy-notice/. It is your responsibility to review the Privacy Notice regularly. Your continued use of the platform, website, services, or continuing to communicate and engage with Harbor Star following the modifications, updates, and amendments to this Notice, whether or not reviewed by you, shall constitute your agreement to be bound by such amendments. 

XI. CONTACT US 

If you have queries about this Privacy Notice or would like to exercise your rights set out in this Notice, please feel free to contact us on the following info:

Email: hsssi_dpo@harborstar.com.ph

Phone: (+632) 553-1593

In order for us to attend to your queries expeditiously, we prefer that inquiries be made via online or through email. 

Thank you.