Modernizing Ro-Ro service seen boosting Vis-Min trade, tourism

Trade and tourism between Visayas and Mindanao are expected to receive a boost after Southwest Ferries launched on Friday a brand new roll-on roll-off (Ro-Ro) vessel that would provide faster and more efficient connections between Surigao City to Southern Leyte.

The vessel, named M/V Stella del Mar, is delivered to the Philippines last week from its builders at Kegoya shipyard in Japan at the cost of $11 million, financed by a loan to Southwest Maritime Corp. from Philippine Business Bank.

This is the fifth Ro-Ro vessel of the same design to ply local waters after similar vessels made by the same Japanese builders were delivered last year to Batangas-based Starlite Ferries for Luzon-Visayas routes.

“The key difference is that these vessels were designed from scratch with the country’s archipelagic waters in mind,” Southwest Maritime chair Arsenio Benjamin Santos said in an interview during the ship’s christening ceremonies. “These ships are safer, faster and more efficient than the 40-year-old vessels currently being used by other companies.”

He explained that a ship like the Stella del Mar — which runs at 13.5 knots versus the 8 knots of older vessels now in service — could make more roundtrips in a single day between Leyte and Mindanao, while older ships can do only one trip per day and stay overnight in port.

“It is also more fuel efficient, using up to 30 percent less fuel, and is easier to maintain because spare parts are still available, compared to the older vessels which were acquired second-hand,” Santos added, explaining that fuel typically accounts for up to 40 percent of operating costs in the maritime industry.

The Ro-Ro vessel can accommodate 114 passengers in an air conditioned “business class” cabin, 843 in economy class, 20 beds for drivers, and up to 19 passenger buses and two trucks in a single trip.

For his part, Philippine Business Bank president Roland Avante said the Alfredo Yao-owned thrift bank stood ready to provide more financing to Southwest Ferries given the positive prospects of inter-island trade in the country.

“Apart from giving us good return on investment, this is also a form of indirect CSR (corporate social responsibility) for us, as we know were are helping trade and tourism develop in Visayas and Mindanao,” he said during the ceremonies.

Santos expressed hopes that his move to deploy newly built vessels — instead of the common local practice of acquiring used ships and converting them for Ro-Ro use — will help spur competition in the industry and lead to better service and safer vessels.