More int’l shipping lines calling on Batangas port

More international carriers are using the Batangas Container Terminal (BCT)—South Luzon’s alternative port gateway—according to listed Asian Terminals Inc. (ATI), which operates the facility.

The port saw increased ship calls in June with the launch of MCC Transport’s enhanced Philippine Feeder (PH4) for its second weekly service via Batangas, ATI said in a statement Monday.

Vessels operated by Express Feeders have also called Batangas Port while other major international carriers are expected to follow suit given the port’s efficiency, flexibility and proximity to Calabarzon.

MCC, the intra-Asia carrier of global transport giant Maersk, started its Philippine Feeder service in the terminal on June 1, encouraged by strong market reception to its pioneering Intra-Asia 7 (IA7) service. IA7 has been directly shipping containers to and from BCT since 2012.

The PH4 service covers Yantian-Hong Kong –Batangas–Manila (North)–General Santos– Cagayan de Oro–Shanghai–Ningbo–Busan– Vladivostok (Fish Port)–Vladivostok (Dalzavod)–Busan–Osaka–Hakata–Yantian and provides faster transit time between northeast Asian ports and Batangas.

Through PH4, Calabarzon-based companies can ship directly from Hong Kong, Yantian, Hakata and Osaka into Batangas at significantly faster transit times of two, three, seven and nine days respectively as compared to the former transit of 15, 16, 19 and 22 days.

PH4 also cuts transit time by more than half for Batangas imports originating from Kobe, Nagoya, Yokohama, Tokyo, Qingdao, Xingang, Shanghai, Huangpu and Shekou via Hong Kong transshipment.

Meanwhile, to better serve customers, MCC further enhanced its IA7 service, replacing this with Intra-Asia 4 (IA4), which offers higher capacity vessels with wider service coverage.

MCC’s IA4 offers direct export connectivity to Hong Kong, Yantian, Kaohsiung, Ningbo, Shanghai, Busan and Kwangyang as well as export transshipment products to major Japan ports via Hong Kong.

It also facilitates direct and faster imports to Batangas from Singapore (4 days), Tanjung Pelepas (5 days), Jakarta (9 days) and Surabaya (11 days).

IA4 calls BCT on Saturdays, and PH4 on Sundays.