Subic container terminal gets new China service

The Subic Bay International Terminal Corporation (SBITC) at the Port of Subic has added a new service that offers a direct link between the Philippines and China.

Operated by Macrocean International Shipping, the CX1 service makes weekly calls to SBITC and Manila International Container Terminal to provide manufacturers and traders in Northern and Central Luzon with a fast and efficient connection to key Chinese ports.

The service sails through the following ports: Manila North Harbor – Subic – Xiamen – Shihu – Weitu.

The CX1 service comes nearly a year after SBITC added the South China Vietnam Philippines (SVP) feeder service South China Vietnam Philippines (SVP) feeder service to its list.

The service was inaugurated by Danum 175, a 1,200-TEU boxship operated by Emirates Shipping Line (ESL), in June last year. It signaled the expansion of the Port of Subic’s connectivity to South China and Vietnam.

ESL operates the SVP service together with ASEAN Sea Line (ASL) and Pacific International Line (PIL). ESL is a new player in the Philippine market.

The SVP service rotation is as follows: Shekou – Nansha – Xiamen – Manila North – Subic – Xiamen – Shekou – Nansha – Ho Chi Minh – Shekou.

In March, ONE announced it would start to call at Subic Bay on its China Thailand Philippines (CTP) service.

With a turnaround time of 28 days, the service rotates through the following ports: Laem Chabang (Thailand), Cai Mep (Vietnam), Manila (Philippines), Subic (Philippines), Qingdao (China), Pusan (South Korea), Shanghai (China), Laem Chabang.

SBITC now caters to more than a dozen weekly services and major shipping lines. (SNL) 

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Subic Port sustains 3-year growth momentum

Following the well-attended 2nd Subic Bay Maritime Conference and Exhibition last week, Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority chairman and administrator Roberto Garcia announced yesterday that the Port of Subic has kept up its growth momentum that began in 2012, on to the first quarter of the current year.

“For the past three years, the Port of Subic has continued to register positively in terms of revenues, gross registered tonnage (GRT), number of ship calls, and non-containerized and containerized cargos,” Garcia reported.

In 2011, annual port revenues were recorded at P371 million, which by 2014 had ballooned to P908 million, or a total growth of 126 per cent. Additionally, ship calls increased from 1,803 in 2011 to 2,591 in 2014, indicating a growth of 15 per cent.

Garcia added that the port’s GRT was only 14 million in 2011, but expanded to 40 million last year, growing by 186 per cent during the three-year period.

“Our port also enjoyed similar growth in terms of containerized cargo, which grew from 27,671 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs), in 2011 to 77,177 TEUs by 2014, reflecting a 60 per cent growth. Non-containerized cargo volume also experienced a three-year build-up of 136 per cent, from 2.6 million metric tons in 2011 to 6.1 million metric tons in 2014,” he noted.

Garcia said that SBMA is anticipating further growth, given the positive outlook for the country’s economy. This optimism seems to be bearing out, as the Subic Port’s year-on-year performance for the first quarter of 2015 shows the same uptrend it has enjoyed in the past three years.

“Our port revenue has increased by 20 per cent, GRT by 12 per cent, non-containerized cargo by 15 per cent, containerized cargo by 28 per cent, and ship calls by 18 per cent,” he detailed.

According to Garcia, the entry of more domestic and foreign vessels that call regularly on the Subic has vastly improved the port’s connectivity to the world.

“We now have NYK Line, SITC, Maersk Line, APL, and Wan Hai vessels plying to and from major Asian ports like Kaohsiung, Tanjung, Singapore, Busan, Xiamen, Jakarta, Ho Chi Minh, Shanghai, and Surabaya, among others; as well as to and from Japanese ports such as Tokyo, Nagoya, Osaka, Chiba, and Kobe,” Garcia said.

Garcia also noted that the Subic Port successfully managed to accommodate the sudden surge in container shipments at the height of the Manila congestion last year, proving its capacity and readiness to handle volume shipments.

“This year we aspire to hit a target volume of 120,000 TEUs, or 20 per cent of the 600,000-TEU combined annual capacity of the port’s New Container Terminals 1 and 2, in line with our vision to make this Freeport the premier logistics hub north of Metro Manila,” Garcia revealed. (KMF/CorComm-SBMA)

Photo: The New Container Terminal 1 (NCT1) at the Port of Subic at night

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NYK opens direct routes to Subic Freeport

Another international shipping line has opened a direct route between this free port and the major ports of Japan and Singapore, joining a growing number of shippers that now call on Subic following its classification as an extension port of Manila.

Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) Chairman Roberto V. Garcia announced on Wednesday that Nippon Yusen Kaisha (NYK) Line, one of the world's leading transportation companies, will open direct routes from Japan to Subic and from Subic to Singapore.

Garcia finalized an agreement for the new shipping route late last month with Capt. Chak Kwok Wai, chairman and managing director of the NYK Group; Ian T. Maambong, NYK sales manager for export; Dan Florentino, chief operating officer of the Transnational Diversified Group; and Tony Ramos, administrative officer of Subic Bay International Terminal Corp.

“The opening of NYK’s direct routes to Subic is intended to provide an alternative solution to the port congestion in Manila,” Garcia explained.

“NYK has stressed that it opened the routes as a contribution to help solve the current concerns in Manila and in response to the Philippine government’s request to decongest Manila ports,” Garcia added.

The NYK Group, which is based in Japan, is a comprehensive global-logistics enterprise offering ocean, land, and air transport services.

Under the agreement, NYK will be providing Subic discharge and load options for urgent cargoes, thereby helping to minimize their vessel’s overall port stay in Manila.

Garcia said that NYK will start an adhoc call at the Port of Subic using its 2,300-TEU capacity target vessel MV Jakarta Tower exclusively for NYK bookings. Jakarta Tower is scheduled to make its first Subic call on November 22.

Daniel Ventanilla, general manager of NYK Fil-Japan Shipping Corp., said in a message to Garcia that NYK’s new line to Subic is marked by many milestones.

“This will be the first service in the Philippines to make a direct call from Japan to Subic, in addition to the regular Taiwan-Subic call,” Ventanilla said.

“It will also be the first service to call from Subic to Singapore, a major transshipment port providing numerous connections to East Asia, the Middle East, South Asia, Europe, Africa, North America, Australia and New Zealand ports,” he added.

The SBMA said earlier that the Southeast Asian shipping community is starting to notice the potentials of the Port of Subic as an ideal port to move and transship both containerized and bulk cargo shipments.
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"With the entry of NYK, our port would virtually become a gateway to ASEAN, Africa, Europe, and North America," Garcia noted.

Last month, China-based SITC Container Lines Philippines, Inc. opened a direct route from Xiamen, China to Subic when its container ship MV Sicilia made its maiden voyage to Subic and unloaded 22 containers at the New Container Terminal (NCT) 2.

The cargoes included products from Guangxi, Sichuan and Shanghai, all in China, respectively for Orica Philippines in Limay, Bataan; Nestle Philippines Inc. in Cabuyao, Laguna; and Manila World Transport, Inc. in Metro Manila. (HEE/MPD-SBMA)

PHOTO:
NEW SHIPPING LINE: SBMA Chairman Roberto V. Garcia (left) meets with representatives of the NYK Group South Asia Pte Ltd. to discuss the potential of NYK Shipping Line calling on the Port of Subic. Present during the meeting are, from far left: Tony Ramos, admin officer of Subic Bay International Terminal Corp.; Ian T. Maambong, sales manager for export, NYK Group; Capt. Chak Kwok Wai, chairman and managing director, NYK Group; and Dan C. Florentino, chief operating officer, Transnational Diversified Group.

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