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 Retirement of the MV St. Pope John Paul II (ex-SuperFerry 12 of WG&A and ATS)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wqRHND4Gi7A&t=63s Sometimes, I would just rather refer to this ship as the SuperFerry 12. There is more context to that name and it is the name she carried for most of her years in the country. Many can still identify her with that name. SuperFerry 12 was the last ship acquired by the Aboitiz shipping …

M/V 2GO Maligaya – 2GO’s Next Generation Liner

In May 2021, 2GO Travel inaugurated the M/V 2GO Maligaya, its largest, fastest, and most technologically-advanced RORO-passenger vessel. Her arrival in the Philippines was heralded with much joy and excitement, because it has been several years since 2GO acquired a new vessel, and more than a decade since the Philippine last saw a liner with …

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 …

The Destruction of the Philippine Merchant Marine Fleet In World War II

When the Pacific War (this is what World War II was known in our hemisphere) erupted, our biggest and best ships were immediately requisitioned by the US to serve as transports and that is normal procedure in a war. And then when it looked like the United States will not be able to hold the …

The Philippines’ First Fast Cruiser Liner

Cruiser liners are our type of comfortable passenger-cargo ships that came before the ROROs (Roll-on, Roll-off ships). They were called cruisers for their type of stern which is curving like a half-moon. This type of ship has no car ramps nor decks for vehicles. What they had were cargo decks with booms to handle the …

When A Lackluster Shipping Company Became A Successful Motorcycle Company

The Pan-Oriental Shipping Company was one of the shipping companies that rose in Cebu after World War II, one of the replacements of the Cebu shipping companies that did not survive the war. This shipping company was among those who were able to purchase surplus World War II ships tendered by the Philippine Government. These …