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Thursday, July 07, 2005
ATS: Crack whip on polluting shipping firms
Aboitiz Transport System Corp. (ATS) has called for stricter measures on adherence to environmental protection by shipping firms, as it touted a seven percent increase in revenues to bolster its belief that it will maintain its market leadership this year.
“Our main efforts in environmental protection start with proper fuel combustion from our ships and avoiding the pollution of the seas we sail. We are increasingly concerned that the regulation by the proper authorities in this regard is not as stringent as it is to our public interest for them to be,” said ATS in a statement.
“Too many vessels still send unburned fuel into the air because the fuel is improperly prepared before combustion and because the combustion is inefficient. Too many vessels still use the seas as the dumping ground of garbage.”
ATS called on the public to frown on this practice and the authorities to punish such acts.
New ships
During the company’s stockholders’ meeting, ATS president Enrique M. Aboitiz Jr. said fleet modernization had also aided its environmental protection efforts. Last year, the company introduced SuperFerry 17, 18 and 19. The newer ships consume less fuel.
ATS chief finance officer Lilian Cariaso reported that the company posted a seven percent increase in revenues last year to P8.2 billion, as the company grabbed a market share of 45 percent for the freight market and 60 percent of the passage market.
But higher fuel prices, vessel refurbishments, security costs and insurance premiums pushed consolidated net income after tax down 13 percent to P310 million last year. (CTL)
(July 7, 2005 issue)
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