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 …

My Cebu Trip of December 2019

It has been some time already since I was in Cebu and part of the reason for that was my health which declined this year. Because of that, there were important invites which I was not able to honor. But my health recovered somewhat and I was able to participate in the Northern Mindanao tour …

The MV Isla Simara Is Now In San Bernardino Strait

The MV  Isla Simara of Shogun Shipping was presented to the local media a few days ago in Pier 6 of NorthPort (the old North Harbor) before she departed where the controversial and untrue claim as the first RORO built by Pinoys was issued. The owners also claimed that the ship has the longest ramp …

My Ship to Jagna

The months of April and May are known in the Philippines as the summer season. It is also the vacation and fiesta seasons and so a lot of people are on the go. And so the influx of travellers traveling between Cagayan De Oro and Bohol has led  Lite Shipping Corporation to deploy one of …

My Bohol Tour

When I went to Cebu last time I resolved I will also go to Bohol and do a tour, a real tour which means going around and not just going to some tourist spot (which I don’t do as I have no taste for that as I am old school in that I really want …

On My Way Home To Davao and My Bad Experience With The Asia Philippines of Trans-Asia Shipping Lines

I had a complicated planning of my trip home to Davao last August. First I wanted a tour of Leyte and of course that will also mean a tour of Surigao. I was interested in the last because I wanted an update on the Surigao Strait ferries that were transferred to Verano port because of …

The Super Shuttle RORO 12 and Its New Route

Last April 30, the RORO Cargo ship Super Shuttle RORO12 of the Asian Marine Transport Corporation or AMTC participated in a very notable ceremony, the inauguration of the new Davao-General Santos City-Bitung route. I do not know when was the last time two Heads of State were present in the Philippines for a shipping inauguration. …

I Was Able to Cover The Inaugural Voyage of the Davao-General Santos City-Bitung (Indonesia) Route of Asian Marine Transport Corporation (AMTC) by Accident

I said by accident because it was not really done based on a plan. As of yesterday I was not even sure on going to Samal because I was wary of the tight security because two Heads of State (President Rodrigo Duterte of the Philippines and President Joko Widodo of Indonesia) will be in Kudos …

The Matnog Ferry Terminal

The government ports that were built in the 1980's to connect Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao through the eastern seaboard of the country were not called “ports” but instead were called “ferry terminals”. And so it became Matnog Ferry Terminal, San Isidro Ferry Terminal, Liloan Ferry Terminal and Lipata Ferry Terminal. The four actually had a …

Allen is the King of Samar Shipping

Allen, a small town in the northwest tip of Samar island is the king of Samar shipping if measured by the number of ports existing and by the number of vessel arrivals and departures and even in the passenger throughput. This has not always been so because in the past Calbayog and Catbalogan have been …