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 Biggest Passenger-Cargo Ship in the Philippines in the 1930s

The 1930s was a golden era for Philippine passenger shipping. There were a lot of passenger-cargo ships that came and local shipbuilding was also in its peak. We benefited from World War I when demand for abaca, copra and coal went through the roof and it spurred shipbuilding and trading. The development of the internal-combustion …

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 …

The Times of Trouble for Philippine Liner Shipping in the Past

In Philippine liner shipping, obviously the first time of trouble was when the Pacific War erupted after Japan attacked the Philippines and the United States. Liners were requisitioned by the US on the promise that it will be replaced when the war ends. The order then was if the ship cannot reach Australia it has …

In The Middle of the 1960’s We Needed New Liners and Europe Filled That Need And Not Japan

With the exception of De la Rama Steamship Company, the Philippine liner shipping companies that were born or resurrected after World War II were dependent on the former “FS” (for Freight and Supply) ships from the US Navy. That type of ship was the backbone of our postwar passenger fleet; it was also the most …