The Passenger-Cruiser Shipping Company That Won’t Sink

It is really true that nowadays a cruiser ship really can't compete with a RORO ship. Since cargo is the main source of revenue and loading vehicles is the biggest source of revenue, it cannot be overemphasized that the loose cargo loaded on cruiser ships will seem paltry compared to what can be loaded by …

The Wrong Way of Treating Passengers in Intermodal Ports

The intermodal system by container ships has long been hailed as convenient and that is generally true. Goods no longer have to be brought to ports to be unloaded, reloaded, unloaded and again reloaded aboard trucks. This process is true especially in loose cargo. It might be more efficient if the goods are aboard container …

The Batangas-Caticlan Route

Once, as we were ship spotting Pier 4, me and Vinz noticed that there seems to be a ceremony involving Cebu Ferry 1 and Cebu Ferry 3. Asking the guard who is his friend, Vinz learned it was despedida (farewell ceremonies) for the two Visayas-Mindanao ferries which will be transferred in Batangas. We learned later …

The Battle for the Southern Mindanao Ports After The War And Before The Era of RORO Liners

Discussing this topic, the author wishes to clarify that the discussion will be limited to the period after World War II. There are not enough research materials yet before the war and in that earlier period Southern Mindanao was not yet that economically important to the country since the great wave of migration to the …

The Sunset of Tacloban Port

Tacloban City is the regional commercial center of Eastern Visayas and this has been so for about a century now. It has the advantage of a central location and a sheltered port and bay. Its reach weakens, however, in the western coast of Leyte which has its own sea connections to a greater trade and …

Container Ships Also Sink Our Liners

In the past, before 1980, there was no conflict between the our liners and the container ships. First, container ships did not exist before the late 1970's. Second, before that time, general cargo ships were not many as it is our liners that were mainly carrying the inter-island cargo that should be transported fast and …

The Merged Carlos A. Gothong Lines Inc. and Lorenzo Shipping Corporation Was Still a Great Shipping Combine Before Their Break-up in 1979

In 1972, the first great break-up in Philippine liner shipping after World War II happened. The then No. 1 shipping company in the Philippines, Carlos A. Go Thong & Co. broke when its general manager Sulpicio Go decided to go it all alone. The old company then just exceeded the old No.1, the Compania Maritima …

Shouldn’t We Be Downsizing Our Liners Now?

In the ten years after the end of World War II, the bulk of our liners were ex-”FS” ships with a sprinkling of former “F” ships, former “Y” ships and former small minesweepers of the US Navy which were even smaller ships. The first-mentioned ship was only 55 meters in length. Passenger capacity then of …

If Only Cokaliong Shipping Lines Would Use the Filipinas Nasipit in the Cebu-Batangas Route

For me, the Filipinas Nasipit which was the former Taiko is striking in two ways. One is its sleek design that is beautiful to behold. She looks modern and fast, which she is. And that brings us to the second striking characteristic of Filipinas Nasipit – her design speed is high at 21.5 knots which …

Ports Served By Liners That Lost To The Intermodal Buses

Once, there were ports that were served by the liners of the national shipping companies in the postwar years. Liners from Manila sailed to these ports and the length of their calls or service already exceeded a century. Now, there are no more liners to these ports and instead intermodal buses are the ones now …