Subic-bound vessel helps decongest Manila ports

Port officials have stepped up the decongestion of Manila’s crammed ports by moving hundreds of overstaying freight containers to Subic ahead of the arrival of new shipments for the Christmas season.

A chartered vessel, MV Asterix, left the Manila International Container Terminal (MICT) Thursday morning en route to Subic carrying 1,154 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs), the Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) said.

The vessel is expected to be back in Manila over the weekend to carry the remainder of the estimated 3,000 TEUs initially marked for transfer by the PPA, Bureau of Customs and port operators International Container Terminal Services Inc. and Asian Terminals Inc. The number may still increase in the next few days.

Businessmen affected by the congestion have blamed it on the expanded daytime truck ban implemented by the Manila city government since February. The ban slowed down deliveries and the movement of cargo out of the port.

In a Senate inquiry two weeks ago, trade officials said the ban had resulted in rising shipping costs, cancelled product orders and the temporary layoff of about 20,000 workers in special economic zones. It also held up the shipment of some 20,000 Manila-bound containers from foreign ports.

The number of laden containers piled up at the three major Manila port facilities—the North and South Harbor and the MICT—reached about 85,000 TEUs in June, exceeding their yard capacity. Miguel R. Camus