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 …

The Greatest Port in Northwestern Mindanao

The greatest port in northwestern Mindanao is actually not so obvious to many as it is not looked upon as a good port of entry. Ports like Davao, Zamboanga and Cagayan de Oro and others always overshadow it. Of course, many do not know its history. And having a small port area and limited wharfage, …

The Legacy of the Surplus Ships From Europe

After World War II, the passenger shipping companies in the Philippines started almost from scratch as the ships they had before the war were almost all lost by scuttling or through war actions (mainly by aircraft bombing and through gunfire). Like before the war, not all passenger shipping companies were created equal. Some of the …

The First “Great” Merger: The Failed Saga of WG&A and CFC

When WG&A was formed it was ostensibly to combat the entry of foreign shipping companies on local inter-island routes. That was the time of many so-called “deregulation” initiatives of Fidel V. Ramos. But even then I had doubts about this as an cabotage law was in effect in the Philippines. Cabotage effectively prevents foreign shipping …

The Battle for the Southern Mindanao Ports After The War And Before The Era of RORO Liners

Discussing this topic, the author wishes to clarify that the discussion will be limited to the period after World War II. There are not enough research materials yet before the war and in that earlier period Southern Mindanao was not yet that economically important to the country since the great wave of migration to the …

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 Super Shuttle RORO 12

The Super Shuttle RORO 12 of the Asian Marine Transport Corporation (AMTC) is one of the biggest Cargo RORO ships in the country. It is notable not for its size alone but also for the fact that she is a balikbayan which means she was once a Philippine ship, was sold abroad and came for …

Developments in Philippine Shipping in 1965 and 1966

The years 1965 and 1966 witnessed key developments and shifts in Philippine shipping. In those two years, two liner companies quit the local passenger liner shipping scene. These are the General Shipping Company and the Southern Lines Incorporated which both started right after the end of World War II when the US began transferring to …

The Start and Impact of Containerization on Local Shipping

Containerization or the use of container vans to transport goods began in the Philippines in 1976, a decade after containerization began to take hold internationally. The new method was started by Aboitiz Shipping Corporation when they converted their 1,992-gross ton general cargo ship “P. Aboitiz” into a container carrier. This was followed by the conversion …

The Flagship Wars in the Manila-Cebu Route

In the first 15 years after World War II there was not much of what was later called “the flagship wars”. How can there be flagship wars when it was an ex-”FS” ship battling another ex-”FS” ship? The ex-“FS” ship were just small World War II surplus ships from the US Navy that were slow …