BY DOMINIQUE GABRIEL G. BAÑAGA
BACOLOD City – Here’s one good news to ships plying the Bacolod-Iloilo route and vice versa: more people are finding confidence to travel by boat again, according to the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) in Negros Occidental.
Though he gave no specific figures, Commander Ludovico Librilla, PCG-Negros Occidental station chief, said the number of people entering and leaving the Simplicio Palanca Sea Terminal at the Bredco port here is getting bigger.
Fastcraft operators recently said the low number of sea travelers was discouraging them from resuming their operations.
Librilla observed that sea travelers were following health safety protocols such as the wearing of facemask and face shield, physical distancing and washing of hands with soap and water or disinfectant.
The PCG commander believed the number of ship passengers would further balloon as the holiday season draws near.
Thus, he said, he asked the PCG national headquarters to send an additional 50 personnel here.
In a related development, M/V Starlite Venus over the weekend started its twice weekly services from Batangas City to Bacolod City via Iloilo City.
A brand new roll-on/roll-off passenger vessel of Starlite Ferries, M/V Starlite Venus was built in the Kegoya Dockyards in Japan. The P900-million vessel, specifically designed for use in Philippine waters, is able to carry 688 passengers and 22 buses or trucks.
The vessel joined the Starlite Ferries fleet in August of this year and was inaugurated just this Nov. 7 in Batangas City.
Accommodations range from reclining seats and open-air economy beds, to air-conditioned tourist beds and private cabins.
The ship has a restaurant, a convenience store, a smoking room, a clinic, and a chapel.
It is capable of cruising at a respectable speed of 16 knots or 30 kilometers per hour.
The new route, meanwhile, also provides an alternative transportation option for logistics companies and passengers from Western Visayas heading to the Calabarzon region, formally known as the Southern Tagalog region (made up of Batangas, Cavite, Laguna, Quezon, and Rizal provinces).
The M/V Starlite Venus leaves Batangas for Iloilo and Bacolod every Thursday and Saturday, and will return to Batangas City every Friday and Sunday./PN
