CEBU CITY—Business leaders in Cebu were happy with the partial lifting of the suspension on the vessels of Aboitiz Transport System (ATS) as a result of the sinking of Superferry 9 on Sept. 16, which left nine passengers dead.

But the president of the Cebu Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCCI) said that allowing only some ATS vessels to operate would still mean a shortage of passenger and cargo ships to move people and goods between Cebu and other ports, especially with the Christmas season coming.

CCCI president Samuel Chioson on Sunday said he hoped the Maritime Industry Authority (Marina) would also consider the fate of Sulpicio Lines Inc. (SLI) whose vessels have not been allowed to carry passengers since its MV Princess of the Stars capsized off Romblon on June 21, 2008, killing at least 800 people.

Chioson also urged Marina to fast-track the audit and inspection of the rest of the ATS fleet.

Mandaue Chamber of Commerce and Industry president Eric Ng Mendoza also welcomed Marina’s decision.

Like Chioson, Mendoza said that if Sulpicio complied with Marina’s safety standards, its vessels should be allowed to carry passengers.

In Manila, Chief Presidential Legal Counsel Raul Gonzalez on Saturday defended Marina’s lifting of its order grounding five inter-island ferries of ATS.

Gonzalez said the public should presume that the order promulgated by Marina head, Undersecretary Ma. Elena Bautista, was in the regular performance of her job. Jhunnex Napallacan in the Visayas and TJ Burgonio in Manila