In the Philippines there are three serieses of brand-new ships which started coming in the first half of this decade. The thing notable about them is they belong to different designs. One of these are the Oceanjets that were made from Australian kits and assembled in Labogon, Mandaue City. The other is the series of catamaran ROROs of Archipelago Philippine Ferries, the FastCats (although some say they are just “Cats” now) which are built in China. And finally we have the series of new ROROs by Starlite Ferries that were built in Japan.
Starlite Pioneer by Mike Baylon of PSSS.
This series consists of eight in number although more are expected to come soon as the contract is a series of ten ships. Two of the seven came via the Southwest Premier Ferries and Southwest Gallent Ferries whose owner is the one which arranged the bank financing for Starlite Ferries and these are the SWM Stella del Mar, the SWM Salve Regina and the Stella Maris, the 6th, 7th and 8th ships in the series. The first five ships which went direct to Starlite Ferries consisted of the Starlite Pioneer, Starlite Reliance, Starlite Eagle, Starlite Saturn and the Starlite Archer.
Starlite Reliance by Britz Salih of PSSS.
This series’ external design is not that really a looker but merits of a ship are not only judged by that. This series has high sides and a great Depth and so greater stability is claimed (but then that could also be a disadvantage in shallow ports in low tide condition). However, being a new ship will trump all of that with its qualities of being reliable and economical to operate.
The Length Over-all (LOA) of the series averages close to 67 meters with a Breadth of 15.3 meters and a Depth of 9.4 meters. [Depth is the distance from the underside of the ship up to the freeboard deck or where water will first come in. Having high sides increases the Depth.] The Gross Tonnage or GT of the series averages 2,700 nominal tons and the Deadwight Tonnage (DWT) is just over 900 tons in average. The passenger capacity of the series is over 700 persons.
Starlite Eagle by Carl Jakosalem of PSSS.
Access to the ship is via a stern ramp that leads to the car/cargo deck which has four lanes and the cargo deck measures nearly 240 lane-meters. There is an elevator in the car deck for the disabled and weak passengers which is not common for a passenger ship. Generally, the upper passenger deck consists of Economy Class which is non-aircon. The forward portion of the lower passenger deck consists of the Tourist and Business Classes with a kiosk between the aircon portion and the non-air Economy Class in the stern of the deck. The aircon classes are quiet, comfortable and carpeted. The attendants are professional and not merely hangers-on. The ships are very clean and tidy.
Starlite Saturn by Dr. Raymond Lapus of PSSS.
The series boasts of the latest in navigation and safety, as to be expected. The great Breadth of the ship is also touted to add in stability along with the added capacity. The ships in the series also have side thrusters which aid in maneuvering the ship. This series of sister ships are powered by twin Yanmar engines that develop 3,650 horsepower that gives the series a design speed of 14.5 knots. Being modern, the series are also equipped with bulbous stems which should give an additional speed.
Starlite Archer by John Edmund of PSSS.
Though the series was designed by Kegoya Dock in Kure, Japan not all of the ships were built in that yard as the Starlite Eagle was built by Fukushima Zosen in Matsue, Japan. Kegoya Dock is an old shipbuilder in Japan.
The series started coming in 2013 with the Starlite Pioneer and the latest, the Stella Maris arrived in 2019. Interestingly, the new Trans-Asia 19 of Trans-Asia Shipping Lines Inc. (TASLI) is also a sister ship to the series. Interestingly again, the Starlite Ferries and TASLI are now both in the stable of the Chelsea Logistics of Dennis Uy, the new king of Philippine shipping.
SWM Stella del Mar by Starlite Ferries
From the early confines of the limited routes of Starlite Ferries, the company has already expanded to the Cebu-Surigao route using two ships in the series which both came from the Southwest Premier Ferries and the accommodations were changed into overnight ferries to adapt to the different condition of the route. A new route will be served by the company in a short time.
A few days ago, the Philippine Ship Spotters Society (PSSS) was a given a free tour to Surigao and back by the company to better explore and expose their newest ship, the Stella Maris.
SWM Salve Regina by Joezyl Belotendos of PSSS.
More ships from this series will still be coming to the Philippines in the coming days. They will serve as standard bearers in the modernization of our ROROs and I am sure they will be fixtures of Philippine shipping for a long, long time.
Stella Maris by Ryan Diel of PSSS.