SAN JOSE, Antique – The soft voyage of the FastCat roll-on/roll-off (RoRo) vessel to the island municipality of Caluya, Antique slated this month has been postponed.
FastCat was supposed to have its soft voyage on March 20, followed by its inaugural voyage on March 27.
According to provincial information
officer Galileo Magbanua on March 12, FastCat has informed the municipal
government of Caluya that they were moving the soft launch to a later date.
“On March 27, the FastCat will start its regular thrice-a-week operation to
Caluya,” Magbanua previously said.
The RoRo has decided to postpone its soft voyage since it still awaits the inspection of the Maritime Industry Authority – requirement to ensure it’s safe for travel.
Once the inspection is approved, the operation of FastCat will sail from Bulalacao, Oriental Mindoro to Caluya at 8 a.m. and sail to Caticlan at 11 a.m. on schedules Monday, Friday and Sunday.
Then from Caticlan, the transport will depart to Caluya at 2 p.m. and sail back to Bulalacao at 5 p.m. of the same days.
FastCat’s operation is much awaited by the local officials and residents of Caluya, citing that it can boost the tourism industry.
For his part, Antique provincial tourism officer Juan Carlos Perlas said that Caluya is as much as Boracay Island because of its beautiful beach and white sand. It is only the lack of sea transport, however, that makes it difficult for tourists to visit the island municipality.
“With the FastCat, tourists can already visit Caluya Island (on) Friday and then leave Sunday morning,” he said.
He added that once FastCat operates, tourists from Manila can take a RoRo from Batangaas Port going to Roxas Port in Mindoro and then take a land trip to Bulalacao where they could take the FastCat going to Caluya.(With a report from PNA/PN)
