TACLOBAN CITY – Two cargo shipping lines have opened a new route connecting Eastern Visayas to the Luzon and Mindanao regions.
Last Sunday(Jan.28), Ormoc-based cargo shipping line ALD Sea Transport launched its Calbayog-Matnog route providing daily trip servicing carriage freight and rolling cargo crossing Eastern Visayas to Luzon and vice versa.
The launching was attended by Calbayog City officials led by Mayor Raymund Uy, officials from the Philippine Ports Authority, Philippine Coast Guard, together with ALD Sea Transport General Manager Antero L. Doyon.
Mayor Uy said that the opening of the Calbayog-Matnog route through Maguino-o Port is beneficial to all cargo trucks as they will no longer need to wait for longer time, sometimes days especially those at the Matnog Port as they have other options in crossing the sea to Eastern Visayas.
Cargo vessels carrying trucks and other cargo crossing to Eastern Visayas either dock at the ports in Allen or San Isidro town, both in Northern Samar, which is more than two hours travel from Calbayog City.
Travel time from Matnog to Maguino-o Port is more than three hours depending on the sea conditions.
“Trucking business from the city will benefit from this because they no longer need to travel to Allen or San Isidro. We will try to request if possible the port authority can provide a priority lane for Calbayog trucking business operators to have priority lane,” Mayor Uy said.
Doyon, for his part, said that their vessel MV Poseidon 49 can accommodate up to 35 trucks per trip.
On February 1, RLS Shipping Lines also started its cargo shipping operation from Maasin City to Lipata port in Surigao del Norte in Mindanao.
Mayor Nacional Mercado said that this operation is a piece of good news particularly for cargo truck operators as they already have more options to reach their destination in Luzon and Mindanao even with the ongoing rehabilitation of several ports in Southern Leyte province.
“For the longest time, Lipata to Southern Leyte has been existing through San Ricardo and Liloan, and there is also a new route to Padre Burgos. So this is another option and opportunity of opening Maasin-Lipata port for our travelers, especially cargo truck operators,” Mayor Mercado said.
Travel time from Maasin City to Lipata will last for more than five hours during fair weather.
The cargo vessel of LCT Josie Fe 01 can carry 20 wing vans, six SUVs, and 10 to 15 motorcycles.
(ROEL T. AMAZONA)
