cebu ferries
The 130-meter Liner
Posted on September 6, 2017 by psssadmin
From the start, I always had respect for the 130-meter liner class and maybe my close observation of the SuperFerry 5 which I sailed with many times influenced me. Of course, I have respect for ships of all classes and that is why I don't gush for a particular class or even type. I always had the tendency to gauge the suitability and to what route the ship is being used. For me, being the biggest or the fastest is not the ultimate consideration. Those things are maybe just for the young anyway.
SuperFerry 5 by Ramiro Aranda Jr.
A handful of liners that came to our seas exceeded 150 meters in length and some were even over 185 meters in length, the biggest that plied the Philippine seas. Those liners all had gross tonnages of over 10,000 except for the sister ships St. Joseph The Worker and St. Peter The Apostle of Negros Navigation whose gross tonnages were grossly under-declared. The liners over 10,000 gross tons are what were called "great liners" by Frank Heine and Frank Lose in their book, "The Great Liners of the World" and our liners officially over 10,000 tons were listed in that book.
Liners over 150 meters have engines whose horsepower total over 20,000 and for that it is capable of thrusting the ship to 20 knots or over but not much more. It's design speed might have been slightly over 20 knots in Japan but here they generally just run at 20 knots (well, even a little less now). Very few ships sailed here at 21 knots and over and probably only two did regularly which were the Filipina Princess and the Princess of Paradise, both liners of of the famed and infamous Sulpicio Lines.
A 157-meter liner (SuperFerry 19 by Aris Refugio)
I can understand 150-meter liners with 20-knot speed if:
it is used in the strongest routes,
it was still the height of passenger demand and that was the situation before the budget airlines and intermodal buses came in force.
The 150-meter liners of old (not the current liners of 2GO) normally had passenger capacities averaging 2,500 persons (with the liners 165 meters and over averaging nearly 3,000 passengers if the putative liners of Carlos A. Gothong Lines are excluded).
However, on a contrary note in passenger capacity, SuperFerry 5 and its sister ship SuperFerry 2 of Aboitiz Shipping had passenger capacities of nearly 2,400 persons average and even the comparable Princess of the Pacific of Sulpicio Lines had a passenger capacity of nearly 2,300. Yes, in maximization especially with four passenger decks the 130-meter liner can nearly match the 150-meter liners. However, they will not run at 20 knots but 17.5 to 18.5 knots is respectable and comparable to the fast cruiser liners that preceded them. In a Manila to Iloilo or a Manila to Cebu leg the difference in travel time is just two hours or less and it is only one hour if the liner can pass under the two Mactan bridges. And one or two hours is not much detectable by passengers especially if the liner departs late anyway.
In combined Manila to Visayas and Manila to Northern Mindanao routes with an intermediate port, both the 150-meter, 20-knot ship and the 130-meter, 18-knot liner can do two complete voyages in a week so there is no difference in their utilization. What the faster liner only adds is only in the number of port hours not sailing or the inter-port hours.. Well, the crew appreciate more port hours if they have a family or a girlfriend there. But then they might not be able to go down the ship earlier because the area they have to clean first is bigger.
But in fuel consumption the bigger and faster liner will consume significantly more fuel. Normally the 130-meter ship is equipped with engines of just 15,000 horsepower or a little more. Now, compare the thriftiness of those engines in fuel consumption compared to a liner with 20,000 or more horsepower.
Of course, in cargo the bigger liner will carry more while the 130-meter liner will just carry some 100 TEUs in container vans. But then I observed that even then the ship's cargo will only be full one way or even not (not much load back to Manila because the provinces do not produce much and grains, copra and sugar are no longer carried by the liners of today unlike before). And the rise of intermodal shipping using the combinations of trucks and basic, short-distance ferry-ROROs chopped up the liner cargo even more. Now the liners of 2GO normally sails with less than a full cargo load and it even has to delay departures for a few hours so more cargo can be loaded.
In passengers the ships even two decades ago when demand was still at its peak only gets full at peak season anyway. In normal months the ship will then be carrying about 2/3 of its capacity. Now they are lucky to have half of their capacity full.
Was the 150 meter liner a mistake? Well, if it was the matter of bragging rights then it might not be. No one wanted to be left behind in size and in speed. And besides Sulpicio Lines and William Lines had their own one-on-one-battle. But the era of 150 meter liners was just short with a window of only about a decade (while ship's lives here is generally more than double of that). And when it was used on more minor routes I thought it was already a mistake because there is not enough cargo and passengers to sustain them there. And so as it grew older the 150-meter liners slowly became dinosaurs especially when liner passenger demand weakened. Of course now that was masked by withdrawals from routes (and lessening of frequencies) which means these liners are already too big for the average port of call.
That was what happened decades ago when the small ex-"FS" ships and lengthened ex-"F" ships were no longer around. Many ports and towns lost their connection to Manila because the bigger liners that succeeded them were already too big for those ports plus the depths of the ship and the ports no longer matched.
St. Therese of Child Jesus by Jonathan Gultiano
And that is why I wondered about the last liner purchases in the country. The ports got bigger than decades ago but there are less passengers now and so Aboitiz Transport System and 2GO just cut off the routes (and it was obvious they were not intent on going back to the more minor routes) because there is not enough cargo and passengers anymore for their 150-meter liners. That is why they left ports and cities like Surigao, Tagbilaran, Dapitan. Cotabato and many others. Well, on another note, they learned that they just needed 90- to 100-meter liners in their Palawan, Romblon and Capiz routes so they just dissolved Cebu Ferries and took its overnight ships and converted them.
I think the 130-meter liner was best for us in most of the main routes. Like what SuperFerry 2, SuperFerry 5 and Princess of the Pacific have shown (and by Mabuhay 2 and Mabuhay 5, too, of William Lines, the latter SuperFerry 7 and SuperFerry 9, respectively) they can be modified to up four decks that will have a total of about 2,300 passengers average when demand was still strong. And when it weakened another cargo deck can be created. Or if it came when passenger demand was already falling the number of decks can be limited into three with the passenger capacity no longer in the 2,000 range. Well, later liners fielded in the 2000's had the sense not to really pack it in.
Two passenger decks converted into cargo deck (Photo by Mike Baylon)
Now, if only bragging rights did not come into the picture maybe the liner choices might have been more sane.
Adjusted for the weakening of liner shipping in this millennium, I think the biggest liners should just be in the 130 to 140-meter range with just 15,000 to 16000 horsepower and a cruising speed of 18 knots (well, the 150-meter, 22,000-horsepower liners of 2GO just average 19 knots now anyway). There is no more need for passenger capacities reaching 2,000 persons. If there is a mezzanine for cars it should just be retained instead of being converted into passenger accommodations as new cars or passenger vans destined for dealers south are important sources of revenue now for the liners. On more minor routes maybe we should even go back to the 100- to 110-meter liners of the past as augmentation for the 130- to 140-meter liners.
San Lorenzo Ruiz with 1,426 pax capacity by Rodney Orca
Now that would be more sane.
Posted in Analysis, Information, Liner, Ship TypeTagged 130-meter liner, 150-meter liners, 2go, 90- to 100-meter liners, Aboitiz Shipping, Aboitiz Transport System, "great liners", "Princess of the Pacific", "The Great Liners of the World", bragging rights, cebu ferries, ex-"FS" ships, Frank Heine and Frank Lose, intermodal shipping, lengthened ex-"F" ships, Mabuhay 2, Mabuhay 5, Sulpicio Lines, SuperFerry 2, SuperFerry 5, william linesLeave a comment
The Misfortune of the Surigao Liner Route
Posted on May 26, 2017 by psssadmin
Of all the many ports of Northern Mindanao, the geographical area and not the political-administrative region, it is Surigao that I did not see losing its liner connection to Manila given its history and not its demographic and economic profile. In the old days, Surigao had six passenger-cargo ships from Manila calling and dropping anchor every week whereas the likes of more known and bigger Iligan and Zamboanga did not have that frequency. So for me the loss of Manila connection by Surigao is almost unbelievable when the likes of Nasipit, Cagayan de Oro, Iligan and Ozamis still have their liner connection to Manila.
Surigao Port by Aris Refugio
After the war, in the 1950's and 1960's, the likes of Escano Lines, Philippine Steam Navigation Company (PSNC), General Shipping Company (GSC), the great Compania Maritima (CM) provided Surigao with connection to Manila. Before the war, Surigao had ferry connection even in early American times and so the loss of connection was as shocking to me as the loss of Davao of its liner connection to Manila. I mean, the connections are historical and it was an epoch in local shipping.
In 1954, when the country has basically recovered from the war and there were enough ships already, the Romblon and Basilan of Compania Maritima and the Davao and Vizcaya of Philippine Steam Navigation Company (PSNC) sailed to Surigao. These were augmented by the Fernando Escano of Escano Lines and the General Mojica of General Shipping Company. All of these passenger-cargo ships were former war-surplus "FS" ships used by the US Army in their Pacific campaign during the war. Ex-"FS" ships were the backbone of our passenger shipping fleet in the early Republic years.
In 1955 the Occidental of Carlos A. Go Thong & Company and the Don Manuel of Royal Lines appeared in Surigao. Surigao then was usually paired with Butuan port (the true Butuan and not Nasipit) in voyages to increase the passenger and cargo volume. Combining the two ports was not difficult since the distance of the two is not far and just in the same direction and the additional passengers and cargo is much more than the additional fuel that is consumed.
The routes combined with Surigao got more complex over the years. In some routes Surigao is combined with Masbate, the Samar ports and Tacloban. There was even a ship, the Vizcaya of PSNC that had the route Manila-Romblon-Cebu-Maasin-Cabalian-Surigao-Bislig-Mati-Davao (now how's that for complexity?). If ever there is again a liner with such route again it will be offer good, free tourism. Never mind if the voyage takes one week as long as the accommodations, passenger service and food are good. By the way that was the time when a dozen passenger ships depart North Harbor every day on the way south. Who said smaller ships of the past were not good? With smaller ships comes more voyages and more voyages means more choices. Smaller ships also mean shorter legs and so it has to call on more ports. More ports means more free tourism. Never mind if the voyage takes long. If one wants shorter travel time there is always the airline.
Some other routes to Surigao pass thru Cebu and/or ports on the western and southern side of Leyte island like Ormoc and Maasin. When I see the Palawan Princess or the Surigao Princess of Sulpicio Lines in the 1990's and 2000's, I tend to think they were the remnants of this route when they call in Masbate, Calubian, Baybay, Maasin and Surigao from Manila (and it even extended to Butuan earlier). It was just too bad that the suspension of Sulpicio Lines in 2008 put an end to that long route.
Until 1959 there were six ships from Manila sailing to Surigao and these were the FS-167, Fernando Escano, General Segundo, General Roxas, Rizal and Romblon. All were ex-FS ships except for the Rizal which might have been a lengthened "F" ship. In 1964, Escano Lines increased its ship call to Surigao with the Tacloban and Kolambugan. Later when Sweet Lines became a national liner company they also called in Surigao with their Sweet Peace. Then in 1970 when Aboitiz Shipping Corporation fielded a dedicated ship to their origin, the West Leyte, this ship held a Manila-Romblon-Palompon-Ormoc-Baybay-Cabalian-Surigao-Sogod route. What a way to blanket western Leyte and Surigao! Later this route was taken over by their more modern ship Cagayan de Oro.
In the same year, Go Thong had their Dona Gloria and Gothong (their flagship) do a Manila-Cebu-Surigao-Mati-Davao-Iloilo-Manila route which goes round Mindanao island. The two alternating ships of Go Thong were no longer ex-"FS" ships but were refitted former cargo-passenger ships with refrigeration from Europe which had air-conditioning already. When I think of the ship routes of the past, I see they were much more exciting that the dry, short routes of today where free tourism (touring the city while the ship is docked) is almost minimal.
When Sweet Lines instituted their eastern Mindanao shortcutter route to Davao via Surigao their ships like the alternating Sweet Bliss and Sweet Dream were also former refrigerated cargo ships from Europe. Later, it was the Sweet Love and Sweet Lord which were alternating in this route. These ships were almost like in size as the Type "C1-M-AV1" war-surplus big ships used right after World War II but the difference is they were faster and had refrigeration which afforded air-conditioned first class accommodations and lounges to be built and hence were more comfortable than the big war-surplus ships that were converted to passenger-cargo use.
Verano Port of Surigao City by Mike Baylon
With ships getting bigger, it is not surprising that routes and frequencies went down. If some thought that getting bigger is all a plus (like maybe in safety) then there is also a downside to that (and there might be a lesson there too). The ships getting bigger were probably the first that affected the frequency to Surigao. The factor came next maybe after that was the appearance of the fast cruiser liners in the second half of the 1970's. Fast cruiser liners usually have just one intermediate call so that it can maintain a weekly voyage to a route as far as Southern Mindanao like Davao. With their appearance, other companies tried to speed up their voyages by also cutting down on intermediate calls and I think Surigao got affected by that like when Sweet Lines dropped Surigao on their eastern Mindanao seaboard shortcutter route.
In 1979, when container services was just starting, the frequency to Surigao was down to 3 ships a week with two of that provided by Escano Lines with their Kolambugan and Surigao. The Don Manuel of Sulpicio Lines was the other ship to Surigao. The three were old ships, as in ex-"FS" type and the other probably a lengthened ex-"F" ship. I am not that sure of the reason for the drop except that I know ships on the way to Davao by the eastern seaboard no longer calls in Surigao port. I was thinking of the cargo. Were there a lot of logs, lumber and plywood loaded before? During that time the logging and timber industry was already on the way down. And the Catbalogan and Tacloban ships no longer go to Surigao. Not enough load maybe to extend the route there. Anyway, this time even the Catbalogan and Tacloban routes are already being threatened by the emerging intermodal system when the buses and trucks started rolling up to Leyte from Luzon.
The end due to old age of the ex-"FS "ships definitely affected Surigao. Those type served the smaller ports and weaker routes in the 1970s. With just 1,000-horsepower engines they were certainly thrifty to run and their size fits the weaker and smaller ports especially with their shallow drafts. However, they can't last forever and entering the 1980's it was obvious they were already in their last legs as they were already in their fourth decade. By the middle of that decade only a few of those type were still running reliably and they were kept running by just cannibalizing parts from other similar ships, one of the reasons why their number kept steadily falling.
Sulpicio Lines fielded the small but comfortable liner Surigao Princess in the route in 1983 which I said seemed to be a relic of earlier days. The Surigao Princess had air-conditioning and First Class accommodations including Suite. Aboitiz Shipping also resuscitated their complex route with their cruiser liner Legaspi which also had air-conditioning. This ship was acquired from Escano Lines, as the former Katipunan and different from their old Legazpi and sometimes she sports the name Legaspi 1 to differentiate it as the old Legazpi was still sailing. Maybe the ex-"FS" ships were now too old and slow to maintain such route. I am talking here of the late 1980's. Escano Lines, the old faithful in the route and a "home team" of the area was already fading and what they had left were cargo ships and the Virgen de la Paz maintained their Surigao route for them. However, before Escano Lines was completely gone, Madrigal Shipping entered the Surigao route with their Madrigal Surigao, a comfortable and modern cruiser liner in an era when RORO liners were already beginning to dominate but then Madrigal Shipping lasted only a few years before quitting and selling their ships.
Port of Surigao (from a framed PPA photo)
I do not know if the regional ships also contributed to the decline of the Surigao liner route. They got better so much so that connecting to Cebu where great RORO liners were beginning to mushroom is already easy. One only has to check their schedules in Cebu and it is really nice to ride them and with their size they won't be coming to Surigao and so connecting to Cebu might have become attractive so one can ride those great RORO liners. I am talking from experience but from a different city which is Iligan when it became an option to me to connect to Cebu to be able to ride a great liner. I also did that on the way home because I know that if I arrive before dark in Cebu there will be seamless connecting rides to Iligan and/or Cagayan de Oro.
There was a big change in 1993 when the great Filipina Princess of Sulpicio Lines upon being shunted to Davao called in Surigao. Aboitiz Shipping also for a time tried the Surigao route with their SuperFerry 2. In 1994, William Lines entered Surigao for the very first time with their luxury liner Mabuhay 2. So for the first time the competitors in Surigao were all new and good liners, a development I have not ever seen before. Maybe the deregulation and support extended by the Ramos government was the reason when there was optimism and dynamism in shipping again. But let it be noted that the Surigao Princess which is beginning to be unreliable and the Palawan Princess were still alternating in their complex route to Surigao and so there were 4 voyages a week to Surigao then from Manila.
In 1996, the SuperFerry 6 of WG&A, the former Our Lady of Akita tried to challenge the Filipina Princess in the Manila-Cebu-Surigao-Davao route. SuperFerry 2 also did a Manila-Surigao-Nasipit-Tagbilaran route after the merger. When WG&A started pairing ships in a route one pair that did the Manila-Surigao-Nasipit-Surigao-Manila route was the SuperFerry 3 and Our Lady of Medjugorje pair. When SuperFerry 6 was withdrawn from the eastern seaboard route and WG&A stopped that route and SF6 was paired with SuperFerry 10, the SuperFerry 1 and SuperFerry 8 was paired to do a Manila-Cebu-Surigao-Nasipit route and that was really a fast combination as both ships can do 20 knots. Later, when three-ship pairing was used by WG&A, the SuperFerry 2, SuperFerry 5 and SuperFerry 9 sailed the Manila-Surigao-Nasipit, v.v. route.
I always thought WG&A will maintain a twice a week schedule to Surigao and pair it with Nasipit and Sulpicio Lines will always have two schedules a week with its unchanging routes and schedules. But of course with the sales of ships that transformed WG&A into Aboitiz Transport System (ATS) there will be uncertainties and the greatest change was when ats sold four of their newest liners to take advantage of good prices and earn a handsome profit. Coming at the heels of sales of older liners and container ships to pay off their former partners which withdrew from the merger, ATS suddenly lacked ships and the Surigao schedules became infirm.
But the greatest blow was when Sulpicio Lines was suspended after the capsizing of their Princess of the Stars in 2008. Suddenly, their two schedules to Surigao were cut and those never came back. I thought ATS would be reliable but actually except for the return of SuperFerry 19 from Papua New Guinea, ATS found themselves lacking ships especially since their SuperFerry 14 was lost to firebombing off Bataan in 2004. When they acquired their SuperFerry 20 and SuperFerry 21, I thought that somehow their routes might stabilize. But like their withdrawal from Davao and General Santos City, I did not see that they will be doing just a Manila-Tagbilaran-Nasipit route and leave Surigao. This was the period when they had the system to use the buses i.e. give the passengers bus tickets to connect to their ships like what they did in southern Mindanao (so passengers can ride their liners in Cagayan de Oro). For Surigao, howeverm it seems they were offering their other makeshift system, the use of connecting ships to Cebu by using their Cebu Ferries. Neat but for whom?
SuperFerry 19 arriving in Surigao Port by Michael Denne
But then their subsidiary Cebu Ferries suddenly left to become the "Batangas Ferries". What I saw was the ATS world collapsing and not out of financial trouble. They were just no longer that interested in shipping and they admitted as much. The passion was gone and they were already more interested in power generation. Well, their bet and support of Gloria Arroyo paid off handsomely and they were able to earn in Tiwi Geothermal and Mak-Ban in Laguna what they cannot possibly ever earn in shipping.
They sold their shipping to an entity that was less capable than them and which had to get a big loan for the acquisition and was a big burden, so heavy that initially the new company was on the red for the next three years until fuel prices eased and they were back in the black. But that was not any benefit to Surigao as they never came back there for long except for a short period like when St. Joseph The Worker was refurbished and was assigned there and which I was lucky to ride. But after her sale and her sister it was downhill all the way for Surigao. With bean counters ruling, smaller ports had no chance in 2GO, the entity after ATS. And to think there were no longer any other liner company competing. 2GO was just content on routes that will easily make them money. Did they call that "serving the public"? I am not sure.
Now Surigao no longer has a liner, not even one that is paired with Nasipit. But 2GO still call in Nasipit from Cebu and so the extra distance pays. But maybe not when paired with Surigao? Maybe if the hours and the fuel of the ship are measured the metric of Surigao is too low and the 2GO ship is better used elsewhere. That is the quintessential bean counter method. They are not into traditional shipping. They are into business.
I was also wondering about the off and on service of the company to Dapitan until its total withdrawal. Dapitan and nearby Dipolog a combined population of over 200,000. But its commercial level is low and so maybe a population of 200,000 is not enough to sustain a liner per 2GO standard. And so maybe Surigao City with just 150,000 people has no chance even if some incrementals from Siargao tourism is added. In Ormoc with over a population over 150,000, 2GO was not able to maintain a route. Somehow these metrics points to the standards and parameters of 2GO.
Surigao Port by Lota Hilton
If that is correct then maybe Surigao has no chance really unless a new liner company with true shipping emerges. But then with the situation of the liner industry that is like asking for the moon. I don't know if the change at the helm of 2GO with the entry of Chelsea Shipping and the SM Group if the metrics and priorities will change. If ATS and 2GO said they were "passionate" in shipping (of course their dictionary is not Webster), I don't know what will be the adjective of the 2GO/NN-Chelsea-SM combine that will make it better.
I don't want to be too hopeful and so I will just await developments.
Note: Thanks a lot to the research of Gorio Belen in the National Library.
Posted in Analysis, History, Information, RoutesTagged 2go, 2GO/NN-Chelsea-SM combine, Aboitiz Transport System (ATS), Cagayan de Oro of PSNC, cannibalizing, Catbalogan and Tacloban ships, cebu ferries, Chelsea Shipping and the SM Group, Compania Maritima (CM), cruiser liner Legaspi, Davao and Vizcaya of Philippine Steam Navigation Company, Don Manuel of Royal Lines, Don Manuel of Sulpicio Lines, Dona Gloria and Gothong of Go Thong, eastern Mindanao shortcutter route to Davao, Escano Lines, ex-"FS" ships, Fernando Escano of Escano Lines, filipina princess, former Katipunan, FS-167, General Mojica of General Shipping Company, General Segundo, General Shipping Company (GSC), Gorio Belen, Kolambugan and Surigao of Escano Lines, Legaspi 1, lengthened ex-"F" ship, Liner, Mabuhay 2, Madrigal Shipping, Madrigal Surigao, Manila-Cebu-Surigao-Davao route, Manila-Cebu-Surigao-Mati-Davao-Iloilo-Manila route, Manila-Romblon-Cebu-Maasin-Cabalian-Surigao-Bislig-Mati-Davao route, Manila-Romblon-Palompon-Ormoc-Baybay-Cabalian-Surigao-Sogod route, Manila-Surigao-Nasipit, Manila-Surigao-Nasipit-Surigao-Manila route, Manila-Surigao-Nasipit-Tagbilaran route, Northern Mindanao, old Legazpi, Palawan Princess, Philippine Steam Navigation Company (PSNC), Romblon and Basilan of Compania Maritima, St. Joseph The Worker, Sulpicio Lines was suspended, SuperFerry 1 and SuperFerry 8, SuperFerry 2, SuperFerry 3 and Our Lady of Medjugorje pair, SuperFerry 5 and SuperFerry 9, Surigao Princess, Surigao Route, Sweet Bliss and Sweet Dream, Sweet Love and Sweet Lord, Sweet Peace of Sweet Lines, Tacloban and Kolambugan of Escano Lines, use the buses, v.v. route., Virgen de la Paz, war-surplus "FS" ships, West Leyte of Aboitiz Shipping, william linesLeave a comment
RORO Cargo Ships and Vehicle Carriers Can Be Good ROPAX Liners
Posted on May 2, 2017 May 2, 2017 by psssadmin
In shipping, wherever that be in the world, fuel consumption is a critical factor because it takes up 40% of the operational costs of the ship. Here it might even be higher as our ships are old and our mariner rates are so low and apprentices comprise about half of the crew and they are the ones that pay and not the shipping company. So when fuel prices went really high a decade ago even the Fast ROPAXes of Europe capable of 30 knots slowed down to save on fuel. High Speed Crafts (HSCs) suffered also, had to slow down too and some stopped sailing for they were simply unprofitable even at very high load factors.
We too had been victims of that fetish with speed that in the 1990's and so, many liners capable of 20 knots, locally, came into the country. The list of this is long and I would list it: Filipina Princess, Princess of Paradise, Princess of the Stars, Princess of the Universe, Princess of the World, Princess of the Ocean and Princess of New Unity, all of Sulpicio Lines; SuperFerry 1 of Aboitiz Shipping; Mabuhay 1 and Mabuhay 3 of William Lines; Our Lady of Lipa, SuperFerry 12, SuperFerry 14, SuperFerry 15, SuperFerry 16, SuperFerry 17 and SuperFerry 18 of WG&A; SuperFerry 20 and SuperFerry 21 of Aboitiz Transport System; St. Francis of Assisi, St. Joseph The Worker, St. Peter The Apostle, Mary Queen of Peace, St. Ezekiel Moreno, St. Michael The Archangel and St. Francis Xavier of Negros Navigation. SuperFerry 16 then came back to become the St. Therese of the Child Jesus of 2GO. A total of 26 liners. Now isn't that too many? And most are 150 meters in length or over and the average passenger capacity is over 2,000 with 3 even breaching the 3,000 mark.
I argue that most proved to be oversized.
That speed came from oversized engines, usually 20,000 horsepower and over which means more fuel consumption and I was not happy with that trend in speed and the trend of upsizing the ships because I know that in the past when liners became bigger than the ex-"FS" ship, many ports with previous connection to Manila were left out because the liners were already too big and their drafts too deep for the small and shallow ports. Then later, the fast cruisers became the new paradigm and more ports have to be left out because to shorten voyage duration the interports were reduced. Gone were the old routes which featured four, five or even six ports of call and with voyages lasting several days.
Those big, fast liners might have been okay when ship passengers were still overflowing when there were still no budget planes and intermodal buses as competition. But that was not okay for the passengers left behind in the abandoned ports. It just created a generation or two of passengers not catered to by ships and grew up not relying on them.
And in the end the liner companies paid dearly for that. Even with advertisements they can no longer be coaxed into riding ships (even if they are painted pink). And that became a disaster for liner shipping when passengers thinned. Too few port calls mean less passengers and cargo – when the ships were already big and guzzling fuel and heavily needing those. And that just helped sink the liner sector of our shipping which has not recovered until now.
I argue that for the passenger loads and cargo sizes now our liners sailing are simply too big and that is the reason why they can't or won't call in the smaller ports served by liners until the end of the millennium like Ormoc, Surigao, Tagbilaran, Dapitan and others. It should go down in size and maybe add ports of call and damn if transit times are longer. What is more important is that the ships become fuller so that it will be more profitable. Anyway, those who want fast travel will simply take the budget planes. But still there are still many people which prefer the ships to the planes.
Moreover, the remaining liners now have engines too big to be profitable on marginal routes and smaller ports. I think the engines also have to be downsized. If fuel prices go up once more the liners won't be profitable again.
Our Lady of Sacred Heart by Chief Ray Smith
In downsizing and saving on fuel, there is one type of ship that is actually fit for us. These are the former RORO Cargo ships and Vehicle Carriers and we have several examples of that in the past. Actually for the same size and length, RORO Cargo ships have smaller engines than ships which were ROPAXes from the start. They were not really built for speed but for economy while having a decent speed. And moreover on RORO Cargo ships not much steel has to be added as additional decks.
Our Lady of Medjugorje by Nat Pagayonan
In the past when liners were not that yet big and fast we had very successful liners whose origins were as former RORO Cargo Ships. I think the most famous of these were the sister ships Our Lady of Sacred Heart and the Our Lady of Medjugorje of Carlos A. Gothong Lines Incorporated (CAGLI) which both came in 1990. Beautifully renovated, few suspected their true origins. Weighing the amenities of the ship, they were not inferior to liners of their size. And nor in speed although they have engine horsepowers less than the liners of their size.
Butuan Bay 1 by Vinz Sanchez
It was the revived Carlos A. Gothong Lines (when they split from WG&A) which brought in the next batch of RORO Cargo ships for conversion into liner ROPAXes when they acquired the Butuan Bay 1 and the Ozamis Bay 1 in the early 2000's. But what puzzled me is they forgot how to convert them into beautiful ROPAXes like before and almost everybody that rode them said they were ugly. And that maybe helped doom the return of Gothong Lines into passenger shipping. When Butuan Bay 1 became the Trans-Asia 5 it became a beautiful ship with first-class interiors. Butuan Bay 1 should have been like that from the very start and if it were, the trajectory of Gothong Lines might have been different (of course they had other problems too).
Ozamis Bay 1 by Mike Baylon
It was the Asian Marine Transport Corporation or AMTC that next brought RORO Cargo ships here for conversion into RORO liners. In their Super Shuttle RORO series, they started with the first three converted in to ROPAXes and these were the small Super Shuttle RORO 1, Super Shuttle RORO 2 and Super Shuttle RORO 3. However, the conversions were also not done well and were not worthy of the beautiful small liners of the past. Were they scrimping too like the revived Carlos A. Gothong Lines? Or were they thinking more of the cargo than the passenger revenue?
Super Shuttle RORO 1 by Fr. Bar Fabella
Super Shuttle RORO 2 by Nowell Alcancia
Super Shuttle RORO 3 by Mike Baylon
The next batch of Super Shuttle ROROs which were former RORO Cargo ships or variants from the Super Shuttle RORO 7 to Super Shuttle RORO 12 were all big, all former RORO Cargo ships but all were no longer converted in ROPAXes because maybe the first three of AMTC were not particularly successful. I was able to board all of them and their interiors were all good. The cabins for the vehicle drivers were still in good condition and being used along with ships' drawing rooms and the good, functional galleys. Some even have gyms. Actually what was only needed is to maybe convert the top deck or another deck into good passenger accommodations. Our shipbuilders were good at that in the 1950's and 1960's when refrigerated cargo or cargo-passenger ships from Europe were converted into liners for Sulpicio Lines, William Lines and Sweet Lines aside from Compania Maritima.
Super Shuttle RORO 7 by James Gabriel Verallo
The Super Shuttle RORO 7 and Super Shuttle RORO 8 were the two AMTC ships that were intriguing for me. At 145 and 146 meters length the size is good especially since this is a tall ship with at least 4 RORO decks. The original top sustained speeds are 17 and 17.5 knots from only 6,900 and 7,800 horsepower which is even less than the horsepowers of the Our Lady of Sacred Heart and the Our Lady of Medjugorje which both had top sustained speeds of 17 knots when new and did 16 knots here even with additional metal and age. If 16 knots can be coaxed from the small engines of the two AMTC ships then it might have been enough especially if compared to the speeds the former Cebu Ferries series converted liners are doing now. It will have a good container load with a decent passenger size if one deck is converted into passenger accommodations and the cabins for drivers are used for passengers here. I was hoping AMTC will go in that direction but they did not. It turned out AMTC was no longer interested in liner shipping and was more interested in container shipping and especially the loading of brand-new vehicles destined for car dealers in the south.
Super Shuttle RORO 8 by Aris Refugio
A design speed or original top sustained speed of 15 or 16 knots might not do because converted here with additional metal and with age already they will probably just run at 13 or 14 knots and that is slow for a liner. 15 knots locally is still acceptable but 16 knots is better as proven by the Our Lady of Sacred Heart and Our Lady of Medjugorje. But then on the other hand the last time the former Cebu Ferry 2 ran as a liner to Cebu from Manila she was just being made to run at 14 to 15 knots. Does it mean that speed is already acceptable? That will mean a 28 or 29 hour run to Cebu versus the 22 hours of the big liners. But then passing through interports will mask that. Just feed the passengers well. And I always wondered why liners to Cebu don't pass Roxas City anymore when it is just on the way. Of course the big ones can't. At least 2GO tried Romblon port with the St. Anthony de Padua (the former Cebu Ferry 2) the last time around. But then maybe small liners shouldn't be doing the Cebu route.
St. Anthony of Padua by Mike Baylon
St. Ignatius of Loyola by Mike Baylon
It was Aboitiz Transport System which next brought in RORO Cargo ships for conversion into ROPAXes with their Cebu Ferry 2 and Cebu Ferry 3. Originally these two ships were refitted to be overnight ferries but later when they were transferred out of their Cebu base they were refitted again to become liners. The two are known now as St. Anthony of Padua and St. Ignatius of Loyola under 2GO. Aside from the two, there are other RORO Cargo ships which were converted into ROPAXes but they were not liners but overnight ships. Among these are the Graceful Stars and Oroquieta Stars of Roble Shipping.
The future Trans-Asia (1) by Mike Baylon
I think there are many RORO Cargo ships around that are about 120-130 meters in length that have a design speed of 18 or 19 knots which can still run here at 16.5 to 17.5 knots and they might just be perfect. I don't know if that is the case of the Warrior Spirit which recently arrived to become the third Trans-Asia (1) of Trans-Asia Shipping Lines. This might be good as a test case. The length of 126.2 meters is perfect and the design speed is 19 knots from twin engines is also perfect. Trans-Asia Shipping Lines has a good record in conversion. But then she will just be an overnight ship but a big one at that. But the coming Panglao Bay 1 of Carlos A. Gothong Lines might not prove to be a test case as she will not be converted to ROPAX, per report.
Panglao Bay 1 by Mark Ocul
Trying these former RORO Cargo ships for conversion into ROPAXes might be a safe bet. These RORO Cargo ships might be low-risk in acquisition as their purchases might just be above breaker prices. So if it does not make money the worth of metal as scrap might still pay for the acquisition price. In the future Trans-Asia (1) they are even cutting off metal so windows can be made. That is different from the experience of the Cebu Ferries ships were a lot of metal has to be added because decks have to built.
I think it is good time to try acquiring RORO Cargo ships as our future liners. They might turn out to be good bets and worthwhile liners a la Our Lady of Sacred Heart and Our Lady of Medjugorje.
Posted in Analysis, Cargo RORO, Information, RORO liner, Ship TypeTagged 2go, Aboitiz Transport System, AMTC, Asian Marine Transport Corporation, Butuan Bay 1, Carlos A. Gothong Lines Incorporated (CAGLI), cebu ferries, Cebu Ferry 2, Cebu Ferry 3, Fast ROPAX, Graceful Stars, interports, Oroquieta Stars, Our Lady of Medjugorje, Our Lady of Sacred Heart, Ozamis Bay 1, Panglao Bay 1, Roble Shipping, ROPAX Liners, RORO Cargo ship, St. Anthony de Padua, St. Ignatius of Loyola, Super Shuttle RORO 1, Super Shuttle RORO 12, Super Shuttle RORO 2, Super Shuttle RORO 3, Super Shuttle RORO 7, Super Shuttle RORO 8, Trans Asia Shipping Lines, Trans-Asia 1, Trans-Asia 5, Vehicle Carriers, Warrior SpiritLeave a comment
Why Not Iloilo Ferries?
Many decades ago, I was wondering when I first heard the "Queen City of the South" monicker of Iloilo City because I thought it belonged to Cebu City. It was only later when I learned from reading that there was a time when Iloilo City can stand toe-to-toe with Cebu City and that it had a great past entering the 20th century. And that standing was propped up when sugar cane was still gold.
One of the requisites for a city to be great is not only manufacturing. It must also have great transportation links and this is one ace of Cebu City. Cebu has so many shipping companies with many routes and ports of call and so the goods of Cebu reach many islands and places. Conversely, goods needed by Cebu including food to feed its big populace are always available with reasonable prices. Like when I see packed vegetables from Bukidnon, I know many of it are headed to Cebu. I will also then see ads for Fighter Wine which is needed to fuel the muscles of the farmers and cargadores handling those vegetables.
There are probably many reasons why over the decades Cebu City outstripped Iloilo City. And one of those reasons is probably the difference in their shipping where Cebu City far outstrips Iloilo City. While Cebu has a dozen or so homegrown passenger shipping companies some of which are of national stature, Iloilo can barely list a few and most are small. Add to this the fact that Cebu City has perhaps two dozen or more cargo shipping companies and LCT operators while Iloilo City has only a few. These differences alone are more than reason for the disparity of the two cities now. An industry like shipping has a multiplier effect. And that is the reason why Cebu has Tayud, the Navotas counterpart of the shipyard row in the south. And Cebu has many mariners each of whom if deployed abroad contribute to the the economy of their hometowns.
There was a proposal for a petition to be sent to 2GO for the revival of Cebu Ferries. I respectfully disagree. There are so many Visayas and Visayas-Mindanao shipping companies already and some had shown great growth and aggressiveness in the past and among them are Cokaliong Shipping Lines, Lite Ferries, Roble Shipping and Medallion Transport. It will be hard to beat them now when they were not beaten when they were still not that strong. And factor in that the last three are also strong in cargo shipping and in transporting vehicles.
Maybe if 2GO and Negros Navigation Company (NENACO) want to expand to regional operations and maybe to bolster their bases Iloilo City and Bacolod City then they better just establish "Iloilo Ferries" rather than resurrecting Cebu Ferries. It will not be anthema to the company as they already have the equivalent of "Batangas Ferries". This is what actually became of their Cebu Ferries when it left Visayan waters.
I think Iloilo Ferries can have five routes, to wit (this is a circular listing):
Iloilo-Romblon-Batangas route
Iloilo-Puerto Princesa route
Iloilo-Bacolod-Zamboanga route with a possible extension to General Santos City
Iloilo-Bacolod-Dipolog-Cagayan de Oro route
Iloilo-Cebu route
An Iloilo hub should be able to handle transshipment to other routes like goods from Zamboanga should be transferred to a Batangas or Cebu ship if the cargo is intended for that.
Anent the third route, an Iloilo-Zamboanga ship is needed because that connection has been lost when for a century it has been existing. When that was lost the passengers have to take the uncomfortable bus which has double the transit time.
Regarding the last, why should Trans-Asia Shipping Lines and Cokaliong Shipping Lines have all the fun? That is also the reason for the second route. Why default it to Montenegro Shipping Lines and Milagrosa Shipping?
The fourth route should be able to load vehicles at reasonable rates to better fill up the ship and compete with the Dapitan-Dumaguete ferry.
Regarding the choice of ships, I suggest to just invest in 80 to 100 meter ferries just like what Trans-Asia Shipping Lines and Cokaliong Shipping Lines use. If the route is potentially weak there is no dishonor in settling for 60 to 70 meter ferries like what Aleson Shipping uses for Jolo, Bongao and Sandakan. And that is what might be needed for the Iloilo-Puerto Princesa route.
If there is a shipping line with an Iloilo hub and also serving Bacolod then products of Western Visayas (I am using the old regional grouping) will be pushed and promoted and at the same time products from other regions needed by Western Visayas will also be made available and probably at cheaper prices. Like I know how cheap some products are in Zamboanga and these are not only barter goods. George & Peter Lines is not bashful taking in canned sardines, dried fish and even ginamos for this help fill up their ship and those are really cheap and Zamboanga and the city hosts some 7 canneries.
Dipolog (not Dapitan port) doesn't have a regular ship link to Manila. With the fourth route ship passengers can be transferred in Iloilo if they are not clients of the budget plane. That is also true for Zamboanga ship passengers to Manila which has only one liner per week.
Since Negros Navigation is Western Visayan then it is their duty to develop Western Visayan shipping. There is probably no need to take cudgels anymore for Cebu Ferries as 2GO is no longer a Central Visayan shipping company. It is Iloilo City, Bacolod City and Western Visayas that need more support now.
Now, isn't "Iloilo Ferries" a great name? If there was a Cebu Ferries and a "Batangas Ferries", how can that name not be possible? And shouldn't Negros Navigation honor Iloilo too?
Posted in Analysis, Shipping IssuesTagged 2go, "Batangas Ferries", "Queen City of the South", Cebu City, cebu ferries, Iloilo Ferries, Iloilo hub, Negros Navigation Company, nenacoLeave a comment
And So Medallion Transport Will Challenge Cokaliong in the Surigao Route
Posted on March 8, 2017 March 8, 2017 by psssadmin
I received a second update saying Medallion Transport will enter the Cebu-Surigao route starting tonight. In prior days, only Cokaliong Shipping Lines Inc. (CSLI) was serving this route which was for long a bread and butter route for them after Carlos A. Gothong Lines Inc. (CAGLI) and Aboitiz Transport System (ATS) abandoned this route.
James Verallo told me it will be the Lady of Love which will be doing the Cebu-Surigao route for Medallion Transport. The Lady of Love is the biggest and best ship of the company and its size at 88 meters is really of the size of the Cebu to Northern Mindanao ships. Besides the size, this overnight ferry has good amenities because she had been a Manila to San Jose, Occidental Mindoro and a Manila to Roxas City ship of Moreta Shipping Lines in the past. She also has the speed because she is still capable of 15 knots cruising speed if fuel economy is not a consideration.
In entering the Surigao route, I am enthralled by the boldness of Medallion Transport. Its Cebu predecessors in expansion which are Roble Shipping Incorporated and Lite Shipping Corporation or Lite Ferries have been tiptoeing for so long now in trying to reach the Northern Mindanao ports. Lite Ferries was able to reach Plaridel in Misamis Occidental but I don't consider it a major Mindanao port while Roble Shipping still are not able to reach Oroquieta in Misamis Occidental after all their announcements and the naming of a ship after the place and this is their Oroquieta Stars. Lite Ferries was able to get to Cagayan de Oro with the old Lite Ferry 8 which is a little outgunned by the overnight ferries of Trans-Asia Shipping Lines, Inc. (TASLI). Meanwhile, Roble Shipping can't seem to reach Nasipit although they have a CPC (Certificate of Public Conveyance) or franchise there for many years already.
Now here comes Medallion Transport without tiptoeing (and prior announcement) and even though it seems they lack true overnight ferries. Oh, well, they were able to reach Masbate before and operate in Bicol waters while Lite Ferries and Roble Shipping seem to have difficulty in going out of the confines of the rather tame Camotes Sea. Maybe Medallion Transport have some supply of "braveness pills" which the others don't have.
Certainly, I welcome the move of Medallion Transport. It is time that the two shipping companies to Northern Mindanao ports (Cokaliong and Trans-Asia) have added competition to keep them on their toes (especially since Cebu Ferries has become the "Batangas Ferries"). I will even welcome if they go as far as Western Mindanao like to Zamboanga. Our country needs boldness from the shipping companies. It is one characteristic I have long found wanting in them since "The Great Merger" (the creation of the late WG&A and Cebu Ferries) bullied them in the late '90's and that was two decades ago already. I do not say they are not good but it is time to expand beyond Camotes Sea or in routes that are just in the 60-nautical mile range.
Will Medallion Transport succeed? That remains to be seen but I certainly hope so. However, with this move Palompon will lose a very good ship and James Verallo is certainly unhappy with that. Well, the Lady of Love is the best overnight ship to Leyte and also the biggest and that was a puzzle to me since Palompon is not even in the Top 3 in Leyte ports. Maybe she was really too good for that route.
I think the former HNSS ferry acquired by Medallion Transport will replace the Lady of Love in the Palompon route. Its size will be more in character with the route. Meanwhile, the Lady of Love might be more fit in a Vismin route. Actually it was not only me which thought that the size and speed of Lady of Love would have been better utilized if Trans-Asia Shipping Lines was able to acquire her but maybe Medallion Transport is really bolder than the said company.
The Lady of Love has not been sailing for several months already waiting for engine parts from Japan. Maybe the parts and repairs have already been done and they are confident that the ship is already capable of the 111-nautical mile route to Surigao which double of her previous route to Palompon (double the route is the equivalent of a back-and-forth sailing to Palompon).
What will be now the implication of her entry to Surigao? Before, Cokaliong Shipping Lines used their weakest ships in the route including their smallest, the Filipinas Dumaguete since they have no competition. Certainly, the company has some very good ships especially their newer ones. Now I don't know if the Medallion Transport entry will trigger a reshuffle of their ship assignments.
Whatever is the denouement, the Medallion Transport move is an intriguing one. I certainly hope it energizes the Vismin routes. The Lady of Love might have an impact bigger than the entry of Lite Ferry 8 in Cagayan de Oro which needed some discounting to get going.
We better watch out for further developments.
Posted in Analysis, Competition, RoutesTagged "braveness pills", Aboitiz Transport System (ATS), "Batangas Ferries", "The Great Merger", Camotes Sea, Carlos A. Gothong Lines Inc. (CAGLI), cebu ferries, Cebu-Surigao route, Cokaliong Shipping Lines Inc. (CSLI), CPC (Certificate of Public Conveyance), cruising speed, former HNSS ferry, Inc. (TASLI), James Verallo, Lady of Love, Lite Shipping Corporation, Medallion Transport, nasipit, Oroquieta in Misamis Occidental, Palompon, Plaridel in Misamis Occidental, Roble Shipping, Roble Shipping Incorporated, Surigao Route, Top 3 in Leyte ports, Trans Asia Shipping LinesLeave a comment
The "MV Maynilad"
Posted on August 28, 2015 August 28, 2015 by psssadmin
The liner "Maynilad" of William Lines was named as such because she was the replacement ship for the liner "Manila City" (the second in the fleet to hold that name) which was destroyed by fire in a Cebu shipyard on February 16, 1991 and which was subsequently broken up in 1992. "Manila City" was the cruiser-liner that held for William Lines the Manila-Davao route from 1977 until 1991 when the fast cruiser wars happened in the routes to Davao. So when "Maynilad" succeeded in that route it was not really a surprise.
There was a surprise, however. While the second "Manila City" was a fast cruiser capable of over 19 knots service speed especially when she was newly-arrived, the "Maynilad" was only capable of a little over 14 knots, a speed no longer acceptable for liners of the 1990's. And to think her sister ship "Mabuhay 2" which came a little bit later in 1993 but which was capable of 17.5 knots service speed.
Akatsuki ©Toshihiko Mikami
"Maynilad" was born as the "Akatsuki" of A" Lines of Japan. She was built by Towa Shipbuilding in the Shimonoseki shipyard. She was launched on May of 1981 and completed on July of 1981. Her measured length over-all (LOA) was 140.5 meter with a moulded breadth of 20.5 meters with a Depth of 7.1 meters. Her original Gross Registered Tons (GRT) was 4,997 and her Deadweight Tonnage (DWT) was 3,128 and her original passenger capacity was 1,032. "Akatsuki" had only 10,200 horsepower from her two Niigata engines and her maximum speed when new was 18 knots. Her unique IMO Number was 8106630.
In 1992, "Akatsuki" came to William Lines of the Philippines to become the "Maynilad". In refitting two passenger decks were added to her passenger capacity rose to 2,511. Her new GT (Gross Tonnage) was 6,835 and her NT (Net Tonnage) was 4,059. Her DWT was 2,800 and her Depth was 11.9 meters. Her route was Manila-Zamboanga-Davao. Most liners of the era would pass by Iloilo and/or General Santos City but with her lack of speed "Maynilad" cannot afford that.
Maynilad ©britz777
"Maynilad" was one of the tallest liners around with five passenger decks. Her accommodation classes ranged from Special Suite, Suite, First Class Cabin for 6, De Luxe, Special Economy and Economy.
Like other A" Line ships of the era, the former "Akatsuki" had cargo booms at the bow or front of the ship and a RORO ramp at the stern or rear. Unlike her sister ship "Mabuhay 2" this cargo loading arrangement was no longer changed. One disadvantage of that aside from the slower loading/unloading rate was the ship swayed every time a container van was lifted by the cargo boom and this was felt by the passengers that already boarded.
With her slow speed for a liner one feedback from passenger of the era was the very long time without seeing port as the Manila-Zamboanga transit time took 37 hours and the Zamboanga-Davao leg took 23 hours. However, she was comfortable enough for liners of the era except when compared to former deluxe liners from Japan. Moreover, especially in William Lines livery she looked good from the outside.
With the merger of William Lines, Gothong Shipping and Aboitiz Shipping in 1996 that created the William, Gothong & Aboitiz she came to the WG&A fleet. Although big and with accommodations good enough she was not renamed a "SuperFerry". When I asked why the reason given was her lack of speed. Meanwhile, her sister ship "Mabuhay 2" became the "SuperFerry 7".
In the WG&A fleet she initially retained the Manila-Zamboanga-Davao route. Soon, however, she was removed from that route when faster liners was fielded by WG&A in that route including the new route passing through the eastern seaboard of Mindanao. She bounced through routes where speed was not a premium but there was really no good fit as those routes usually have a smaller traffic and "Maynilad" has a big passenger capacity. She was too big for the routes of Cebu Ferries and soon in 1997 she was advertised for sale together with six other ships of the fleet.
Our Lady of Akita 2 ©via James Gabriel Verallo
There were no takers especially since her tag price was high especially if compared to her Gross Tonnage. When WG&A and Cebu Ferries Corporation (CFC) culled ships in 2000 she was initially transferred to Cebu Ferries and she was renamed the "Our Lady of Akita 2". This name change caused confusion including in maritime databases. There was a former "Our Lady of Akita" which became the "SuperFerry 6" which was burned and lost in the same year.
However, she was not a good fit in the CFC routes like the "Our Lady of Banneux" which was also handed down to the CFC fleet as they were simply too big for the routes being full-pledged liners. Soon she was packaged for sale to China along with many other WG&A/CFC ships that included container ships so the Chiongbian and Gothong families who were divesting divesting then from the merged shipping company can be paid.
In September 2003, the former "Maynilad" was broken up in China, a sad end for a ship barely over 20 years old in age and with a service less than a decade in the Philippines if her lay-up period were deducted. Ultimately, her lack of speed, which was a big consideration in WG&A, lessened her use and eventually doomed her.
Posted in Ship FeatureTagged akatsuki, cebu ferries, maynilad, our lady of akita, wga, william linesLeave a comment
Quo Vadis, Lite Ferry 8?
Nobody might have realized it but Lite Ferry 8 might now be the RORO ferry with the second-most number of years of service in the Philippines after "Melrivic Seven" (excepting also the LCT's). She first came to our country in 1980 as the "Sta. Maria" of Negros Navigation, the first RORO ship in their fleet. Later, in 2001 she was sold by Negros Navigation to George & Peter Lines where she became the "GP Ferry-1". After several years, in 2007 she was sold by G&P Lines to Lite Ferries where she became the "Lite Ferry 8" and was designed to compete in the prime route across Camotes Sea, the Cebu-Ormoc route. She is certainly a well-traveled ferry.
"Lite Ferry 8" started life as the "Hayabusa No. 3" of Kyouei Unyu of Japan with IMO Number 7323205. She was built by Yoshiura Zosen in their Kure shipyard and she was completed on April of 1973. As built, her Length Over-all (LOA) was 72.0 meters and her Breadth was 12.6 meters with a Gross Tonnage (GT) of 691 and a Deadweight Tonnage (DWT) of 1,680. She was powered by two Akasaka marine diesel engines totaling 4,200 horsepower routed to two screws. She had a maximum service speed of 15 knots when she was still new.
Sta. Maria ©Gorio Belen
Before leaving Japan, she was renamed as the "Hayabusa No.8". In December of 1980 she came to Negros Navigation of the Philippines which added decks and passenger accommodations to her. She was among the first RORO's in the Philippines and the first for Negros Navigation. She could actually be the first RORO liner in the country (as distinguished from short-distance and overnight ferries). Originally, she held the route from Manila to Iloilo and Bacolod and calling on Romblon port along the way. In one sense she replaced the flagship "Don Juan" of the Negros Navigation fleet which sank in a collision on April 22, 1980.
With the advent of additional liners in the Negros Navigation fleet, the smaller and slower "Sta. Maria" was withdrawn from the Manila route and shunted to regional routes. Among the routes she did was the Cebu-Iloilo-Puerto Princesa route and later the Iloilo-Bacolod route. In 2000, when Negros Navigation already had a surplus of ships and the parallel route Dumangas-Bacolod was already impacting the Iloilo-Bacolod route she was sold to George & Peter Lines which needed a replacement ship after the loss of their ship "Dumaguete Ferry" to fire.
GP Ferry-1 ©Wakanatsu and Toshihiko Mikami
In George & Peter Lines, she became the "GP Ferry-1" where she basically did the staple Cebu-Dumaguete-Dapitan route of the company which was an overnight and day route on the way to Dapitan and an overnight route on the way back to Cebu. When there were still no short-distance RORO ferries between Dumaguete and Dapitan this was a good route. But when short-distance ferries multiplied in the route and with it dominating the daytime sailing, slowly George & Peter Lines saw their intermediate route jeopardized and the process accelerated with the entry of Cokaliong Lines in the Cebu-Dapitan-Dumaguete route.
I think it is in this context that G&P Lines sold her to Lite Ferries in 2007. By this time her engines were also beginning to get sickly, a factor of age exacerbated with longer route distances. Lite Ferries designed her to compete in the prime Camotes Sea route where the "Heaven Stars" of Roble Shipping Lines and the good overnight ferries of Cebu Ferries were holding sway. However, she was not too successful for Lite Shipping as her old engines seemed to be too thirsty and not too solid for the route. Sometime in 2010, Lite Ferries began using the Lite Ferry 12 for the Ormoc route and after that Lite Ferry 8 already spent considerably more time in anchorage than in sailing. Lite Ferry 12 had considerably smaller engines than "Lite Ferry 8" and her size was just a match for the like of "Wonderful Stars" which was also doing the Cebu-Ormoc route.
Lite Ferry 8 ©Jonathan Bordon
"Lite Ferry 8" was also put up for sale but with the history of her engines any sale except to the breakers will not be easy. Her accommodations and size is not what is used for the short-distance ferries and her engines are also too big for that route class. The only RORO now of her length, engine size and passenger accommodations are the overnight ferries from Cebu to Northern Mindanao but Lite Ferries do not sail such routes except for their route to Plaridel, Misamis Occidental and even in such route lengths the company prefers to use ROROs in the 60-meter class with engines totaling less than 3,000 horsepower.
As of now, "Lite Ferry 8" is almost a ship without a route. She is difficult to find a soft landing spot and she does not have the endurance of the Daihatsu-engined ex-"Asia Indonesia" and ex-"Asia Brunei" which more or less shares her age and size and engine power. Kindly to her, Lite Ferries is not a company known for contacting fast the breakers' numbers unlike Cebu Ferries and its former mother company.
Lite Ferry 8 ©Aristotle Refugio
So the question lingering about her now is, Quo vadis?.
Posted in Ship FeatureTagged Asia Brunei, Asia Indonesia, Bacolod, Cebu, cebu ferries, Dapitan, Dumaguete, Dumaguete Ferry, George and Peter Shipping Lines, GP Ferry 1, Hayabosa No.8, iloilo, Liner, Lite Ferries, Lite Ferry 8, manila, Melrivic Seven, negros navigation, Ormoc, Overnight Ferries, philippines, Puerto Princesa, Romblon, RORO, Short-distance Ferries, Sta. Maria, Wonderful Stars1 Comment
Superferry 1
Posted on January 28, 2015 by psssadmin
Aboitiz Shipping Corporation has always been notable for two particular quirks. The first is when they bought a lot of old ex-FS ships in the mid-1960's from other shipping companies when others were already sourcing ships from Europe and Japan and some are even brand-new. The second is when they did not buy any ferry for 14 straight years from 1974 to 1988 and when they bought one it was another old hand-me-down from Escano Lines, the former "Katipunan". However, in the same period Aboitiz Shipping Corporation (ASC) bought a lot of cargo ships and they were among the first to containerize. Actually, in the 1980's ASC was one of the container majors in the local seas through the Aboitiz Concarriers together with the Wilcons of William Lines, the Sulcons of Sulpicio Lines and the Lorcons of Lorenzo Shipping.
With a ferry fleet whose backbone were still the old ex-FS ships Aboitiz Shipping Corporation did not try to compete in the major ferry routes in the 1980's and instead concentrated on minor routes like routes to northern Panay and Leyte island. However, this laidback attitude on ferry operations all changed when in 1989 when they bought the "Venus" from Japan to become the "SuperFerry 1". I am not sure if this was part of the Jebsens influence on Aboitiz Shipping but it looks like it. Jebsens of Norway was a partner of Aboitiz in local shipping and they created a company named Aboitiz Jebsens which was in ship maintenance and management.
"Venus", a ROPAX (RORO-Passenger ship) with IMO Number 7375856 was built by Shikoku Dockyard in Takamatsu, Japan. She measured 132.4 meters by 20.6 meters and she had an original Gross Tonnage (GT) of 4,006 nominal tons and Deadweight Tonnage (DWT) of 3,194 tons. In Net Tonnage (NT), she measured 1,630 nominal tons with a passenger capacity of 302 and her RORO capacity was 1,030 lane-meters. "Venus" was originally by powered by twin SEMT-Pielsticks which developed a combined 16,700 horsepower giving her a service speed of 20.5 knots. She already had the then-new and modern bulbous stem which gave extra speed. She was completed on December of 1975 and she was then delivered to Arimura Sangyo shipping line of Naha, Okinawa, Japan.
In 1989 Aboitiz Shipping Corporation bought the "Venus" and brought her to the Philippines where she was rebuilt. New decks were added and it now totaled four and additional passenger accommodations were built. Her new Gross Tonnage (GT) was 9,184 nominal tons and her new Net Tonnage (NT) was 2,987 with a passenger capacity of 1,808. Her new Depth was 13.0 meters. Her new name was "Aboitiz SuperFerry 1" and she was the new flagship of Aboitiz Shipping Corporation. "Aboitiz SuperFerry 1" was the first RORO-Passenger (ROPAX) ship of the company.
SuperFerry 1 Brochure ©Mike Baylon
She was launched with fanfare and advertisements were rolled out. They touted the new kind of service and accommodations and pointed out the word "Super" pertained to these and not to the size as she cannot beat the "Filipina Princess" of Sulpicio Lines in that aspect. Indeed, it seems that for the first time a liner sailing in local seas had service crew that were graduates of Hotel and Restaurant Management (HRM) courses and not green mariners trying to serve customers. There was always the smile, the snappiness, the ever-presence and the constant cleaning and mopping. With HRM background they knew how not to say "No" and how not to disappoint passengers. Meals were not free but there is a full-service cafeteria which looked like an office cafeteria that was open till past midnight. The equipment and cleanliness of the toilets and baths were unmatched in the business.
However, in less than a year of sailing, bad luck hit "SuperFerry 1" when she was struck by engine room fire. She was towed to Singapore for repairs where she was fitted with new engines, too. Brand-new Wartsila diesel engines were used which developed a total of 21,200 horsepower. Although heavier now, she was able to regain her old service speed of 20.5 knots with the new more powerful engines. At that speed she was clearly now the second-best to the much more powerful "Filipina Princess". She was re-launched in 1991 to fanfare and advertisements again.
SperFerry1 Main Engine ©Ralpha Russel Rosauro
With her, Aboitiz Shipping was able to reclaim their old Davao route which before already lain beyond their old cruisers ("SuperFerry" 1 was the first RORO of the company) because of the long distance and the lack of speed which made them the laughing stock of the fast cruisers of Sulpicio Lines and William Lines like the "Davao Princess" and the "Manila City". With "SuperFerry 1" Aboitiz Shipping and Aboitiz Jebsens pioneered the system of sailing where in-port hours were low and the ship just sails and sails. This was needed because Aboitiz Shipping lacks liners. Promptness was paramount and to shorten loading and unloading time two ramps were used simultaneously and containers that must be handled were radioed to the tractors which was setting records in speed of hauling. In comparison, the rival flagships "Filipina Princess" and "Sugbu" of William Lines were still using the slow booms together with ramps.
The route of SuperFerry 1 was Manila-Iloilo-General Santos City-Davao and Manila-Iloilo. She was the fastest ferry to General Santos City and Davao, bar none. Her intermediate port stops consisted only of two to three hours and she was known for promptness in departures. Once a passenger ramp was lifted it's already sorry to any passengers even though they are running with all their might towards the ship. Being the newest, fastest and the best passenger service she displaced patronage from rivals in the route and name "SuperFerry" and its brand of service was already being installed in the minds of the riding public of ships.
In the merger of William Lines, Gothong Shipping Corporation and Aboitiz Shipping Corporation that created the new company WG&A she retained her name and her route. Later, "SuperFerry 8", the former "Mabuhay 3" and "Sugbu" was paired with her in the route. She held on to this route even when the Chiongbian and Gothong families already withdrew from the merged company and her company was renamed the Aboitiz Transport Shipping (ATS). By this time her service speed was already down to 19 knots.
SuperFerry 1 ©Aris Refugio
With the arrival of "SuperFerry 20" and "SuperFerry 21" she was displaced from the Davao route. She was also starting to fall from disfavor as the new style of ATS called for ROPAXes of twin cargo decks and less passenger capacity and amenities, the reason they converted three ferries into this standard. "SuperFerry 1" also has a big engine relative to her cargo capacity which was their primary measurement. Not long after ATS advertised her for sale but there were no local takers as other liner companies do not buy hand-me-downs from rivals and she was too big and her engine too powerful for the Visayas-Mindanao shipping companies. And so she just toiled in minor routes.
Not long after, the merger of Negros Navigation and Aboitiz Transport System happened and she came under 2GO. Doing the Tagbilaran and Dumaguete route she grounded entering Tagbilaran Bay when the new master from Negros Navigation took a shortcut on the reefs. A SuperCat came to the rescue of her passengers and she was later freed. From this accident she sailed almost no more and soon she was just a "floating monument" in Manila Bay. She was, however, renamed the "Sta. Rita de Cascia".
SuperCat rescue operations ©Vince Sanchez
More photos of the operation can be found by clicking here.
Last year, in 2014, she disappeared from Manila Bay. Later, she reappeared in Indonesia as the "Mutiara Persada 1". Ship spotters heaved a sigh of relief because Indonesia, like the Philippines, is known for appreciating and taking care of older ships. So for now, it looks like "SuperFerry 1" has escaped the breaker's torches.
Posted in Ship FeatureTagged aboitiz, cebu ferries, davao, davao princess, filipina princess, general santos, gothong, grounding, iloilo, jebsen, ropax, sugbu, sulpicio, supercat, Superferry, superferry 12, superferry 8, tagbilaran, william lines, zamboangaLeave a comment