SHIP FEATURE | M/V October Lavender of Atienza Interisland Ferries Inc.

The M/V October Lavender is a BRAND-NEW PHILIPPINE MADE ROPAX Vessel of Atienza Interisland Ferries Inc. She has an overall length of 68 Meters and a beam of 15 Meters. The vessel was locally designed and constructed by RAJ&T Marine Services Inc in Navotas. She was launched last December 17 2021 and had her maiden …

SHIP UPDATE | Starhorse Shipping Lines launches its new Lucena-Masbate-Calbayog and v.v. Route

One of the leading Southern Luzon-based shipping companies: Starhorse Shipping Lines, Inc. launches its newest route: Lucena-Masbate-Calbayog and v.v. Route and will be having its maiden voyage today January 12 2022 in Lucena City The vessel that will be used in this route is the M/V Virgen de Penafrancia X. She has a service speed …

The Sta. Clara Shipping Corporation and the Penafrancia Shipping Corporation

King Frederick by Britz Salih of PSSS. On paper, the Sta. Clara Shipping Corp. and Penafrancia Shipping Corp. of Bicol are two different companies but in actuality like Montenegro Shipping Lines Inc. (MSLI) and Marina Ferries the two are simply legal-fiction companies of each other. That means in operation and routes they cannot be distinguished …

The Bad Maharlika and Grand Star RORO Ferries Transformed

It was more than two decades ago when I first became acquainted on a regular basis with the Maharlika ships. This fleet consisted of the Maharlika I, Maharlika II, Maharlika III, Maharlika IV, Maharlika V, Maharlika VI and Maharlika VII. I just used their names with the Roman numerals for consistency because at other times …

Philtranco Always Tried Horizontal Integration

Horizontal integration is the setting up or the acquisition of a company at the same level of the value chain and that is meant to help the company compete. It can be a competitive strategy where economies of scale, more efficiency and increase of market power are the objectives. Companies engage in horizontal integration to …

The Current Plight of 2GO Now, Its History and What Could Be Done

According to their released Financial Statement in its Annual Report, 2GO had a Net Loss of PhP 1.349 billion (or a Total Comprehensive Loss of PhP 1.351 billion) in 2018.  In the previous year 2017, they also had a Net Loss of PhP 311 million(or a Total Comprehensive Loss of PhP 296 million) whereas in …

The Biggest Shipping Company Based in Mindanao (Part 2)

If the Aleson Shipping Lines was investing in ferries, it was also investing in cargo ships matching what the No. 1 shipping company then of Mindanao, the Sampaguita Shipping Corporation was doing. Maybe there was a need for Aleson Shipping to move and push their own cargo as they are traders and distributors after all. …

The Biggest Shipping Company Based in Mindanao (Part 1)

Many people will think that the biggest shipping company in Mindanao is 2GO, the only liner company left in the country with its big ships with large Gross Tonnages, one of the measures of a shipping company's size. Maybe some will also argue that it has to be the Chelsea Logistics Corp. which controls a …

Was It Choking Or Indigestion For Starlite Ferries?

Almost since its establishment I tried to monitor the Starlite Ferries which was founded by Alfonso Cusi who has Mindoro origins. Starlite Ferries was easier to track since unlike her pair Montenegro Shipping Lines Inc. which is related in a way to them in patronship, Starlite Ferries did not expand beyond Mindoro unlike the other …

The Result of the Losses of the MV Leyte, MV Guimaras and MV Dadiangas and the Scrapping of the MV Mindanao of Compania Maritima

Nowadays, those four liners of the defunct but once great Compania Maritima will no longer ring a bell to most people. Even in the years when the four were still sailing those were not among the best or the primary liners of the said shipping line except for the MV Mindanao which was actually the …