Gov’t entices shippers to Batangas port

FILE PHOTO BY TESSA R. SALAZAR

Malacañang has approved financial incentives to lure shippers to the underutilized Batangas Port in a bid to decongest Manila’s seaports, which serve as the primary gateway to the capital district and nearby areas.

The Philippine Ports Authority said in a statement over the weekend that the Office of The President approved a reduction in port charges and other vessel-handling fees at the Batangas Port.

Specifically, direct callers at Batangas Port will get a 90-percent discount on port dues from the existing fee of $0.081 per gross revenue ton (GRT) per day to only $0.008 per GRT per day as well as a 90-percent cut in dockage-at-berth from $0.039 per GRT to only $0.004 per GRT per day.

The new rates, however, will be applicable only for six months, wherein the discount for the succeeding six months will be reduced by half for both, or from $0.081 per GRT to $0.040 per GRT per day, and from $0.039 per GRT to $0.020 per GRT per day. The new rates took effect at the start of this month.

“This is a big boost in our bid to increase utilization of the Batangas Port,” PPA General Manager Juan C. Sta. Ana said. “The new directive has likewise changed the basis in the computation of the dockage-at-berth from per GRT per calendar day, or a fraction thereof, to per GRT per block of 24 hours, or a fraction thereof.”

Currently, there are at least six international carriers calling at the Batangas Port since June: MCC Transport Corp., NYK Shipping Lines, SITC Container Lines, American Presidents Lines, Regional Container Lines/Pacific International Lines, and CMA-CGM.

PPA said it also approved incentives for International Container Terminals Services Inc. (ICTSI) to declog the Ports of Manila.

PPA said the port dues for the vessel chartered by ICTSI to bring out overstaying cargo from the Port of Manila to Subic would be reduced from $0.081 per GRT per call to only $1 per call, while dockage-at-berth would be cut to $1 per vessel from $0.039 per GRT per calendar day, or a fraction thereof.

The PPA hopes that the reduction in fees will encourage ICTSI, as port operator, to shoulder the cost of moving out all overstaying cargo at the Port of Manila.

The vessel will ship about 6,000 containers out of Manila’s ports to Subic.

ICTSI is chartering a vessel with a capacity of about 1,300 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) with a GRT of 18,321 tons for at least 14 days to ferry empty containers and other overstaying containers from the Ports of Manila to Subic.

During its stay in the country, the vessel is expected to ship about 4,000-6,000 TEUs out of the Manila ports.

Congestion at Manila’s ports continues to decline, with yard utilization almost down to the desired level of 80 percent, the PPA said.