2021, The year where the Philippine shipping industry surprised us all; What to expect in 2022

Article Contributed by Wong Nicholai of PSSS-Ozamiz © Photo by Mark Edelson Ocul of PSSS From the launching of the biggest ROPAX in the country to the launching of new and locally-made vessels. 2021 marks an unremarkable year in Philippine shipping. With the worsening state of COVID-19 in our country caused by newer variants, despite …

Are We Heading Into The 3rd Surplus of Bottoms?

In maritime connotations, a “surplus of bottoms” means there is a general surplus of ships which can mean marginal loads to survive and worse a fare and freight war occurs. When this happens some shipping companies do not survive and so a “correction” (this term is used in Business and Economics) occurs but that can …

The TEFASCO vs PPA Case

Nowadays, there are already many private ports in operation in the country. This is because companies have the urge to build their own ports for simplicity of operation, savings and security. Some shipping companies also build their own ports for the same reasons and some are simply in the business of ports like the big …

The Un-achieved Blessing of the Eastern Seaboard RORO-Capable Port Towns

I am talking here of the port towns of Pilar and Matnog in Sorsogon, Allen and San Isidro in Northern Samar, Liloan and San Ricardo in Southern Leyte. When port ferry terminals were built there decades ago (a decade in San Ricardo’s case) to connect the islands there were high hopes of them being economically …

The China Ferries Are Coming

It’s been a long time now that our newly-fielded ferries were surplus ferries from Japan, be it liners, overnight ships or short-distance ROROs. But in the last 5 years about half of our newly-fielded ferries from outside were already from China, both in surplus and in newbuilds. And that only shows the big changes that …

Three RORO Companies Now In The Cebu To Surigao Route

Very recently, there are now three RORO companies vying in the route from Cebu to Surigao and vice-versa and for me that is a sea-shaking event but not a tsunami. It was Medallion Transport Inc. which started this thing when they fielded their biggest ship, the Lady of Love in the said route. To be …

I Did Not Expect That The Panay Liners (Except For Iloilo) Will Easily Surrender To The Intermodal Trucks And Buses

In the island of Panay, liners from Manila (they were really liners but were doing practically what is an overnight route if 250 nautical miles can be called an overnight route) called in Dumaguit port in Aklan and in the Culasi port of Roxas City in Capiz and many liners were assigned here by WG …

The Remnants of the Galleons

The nearest representation of shipping of about a century ago that I know. If I would ask the question what was the second-biggest shipbuilding area in the Philippines a century ago, I am almost sure nobody can give the right answer. I think almost all will say that the answer is Cebu. But actually, there …

Maasin Port Is An “Anomaly” And So Is The City

Maasin City as a provincial capital of Southern Leyte is an ''anomaly" but this is in no way meant to insult it and its people. But there is no other provincial capital in the country where the capital is the last and furthermost locality. And that becomes a problem for the people of its towns on …

The Masbate-Pio Duran Route and How It Grew

The last time I was in Masbate City and that was last year, I have already observed that this new competing route is already dominating the old connection by RORO to the Bicol mainland or peninsula and that is the Masbate to Pilar, Sorsogon route although it is a longer route and people of Masbate …