Saturday, August 09, 2008 Traders hope for ‘normalcy’ in operations for faster transfer of food, products
BUSINESSMEN who have complained about losing millions due to delays in the shipment of goods are relieved with the clearance given to two of Sulpicio Lines Inc.’s (SLI) vessels.
But Cebu Auto Dealers Association (Cada) president Jose Manuel Cuenco yesterday said that the movement of cargoes to and from Cebu will normalize only if the entire fleet of SLI will be allowed to sail by the Maritime Industry Authority (Marina).
Cuenco said the shipments of vehicle units and spare parts were delayed for about three weeks since Marina ordered the grounding of SLI’s passenger-cargo vessels.
Other business leaders in Cebu are praying for the “normalcy of the shipping industry.”
Marina only lifted the grounding on two of SLI’s vessels—mv Cotabato Princess and mv Princess of the Earth—almost two months after the Princess of the Stars sank off Romblon at the height of typhoon Frank, killing around 700 crew members and passengers.
“I am very happy that these two ships have been approved to sail again. Even when they will cater to exclusive areas, it will help stabilize products, such as agriculture and food products,” said Edward Gaisano, president of the Cebu Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCCI).
Confederation of Philippine Exporters (Philexport)-Cebu president Jay Yuvallos said they are happy with the new development but they are still hoping that other ships will
pass the re-audit soon to normalize the shipping industry.
Philexport advocacy and information officer Jun Abines added that the two vessels will help in the exporters’ future shipments but they could no longer make up for the “millions in (financial) losses” in the past weeks when all of SLI’s passenger-cargo vessels were grounded, resulting in the loss of food and agricultural products that are highly perishable.
“We need Sulpicio Lines to be back for the shipment of goods,” Mandaue Chamber of Commerce and Industry president Eric Mendoza, for his part, also said.
Cada’s Cuenco said the grounding of SLI’s fleet caused them a lot of problems.
“If one dealer, like Toyota, will ship 20 units to Cebu and only five units will be loaded due to the lack of cargo vessels, we will wait for several days to finally ship the remaining 15 units,” Cuenco said of their experience.
Cuenco added that since June, they were forced to ship their vehicles through other shipping firms but the cargo vessels were smaller and cannot accommodate a big volume of shipment.
He also said that all of SLI’s vessels were roll-on roll-off (RoRo) ships, which made the shipment of vehicles easy.
Other shipping firms placed vehicles in containers, which exposed their goods to damage.
“The vehicles were vulnerable to damage, plus the fact that you have to pay high arrastre charges. That will increase the cost of business,” Cuenco said.
As early as last month, Cada, with members, such as Toyota, Mitsubishi, Honda, Isuzu Mandaue and Cebu, Chevrolet, Hyundai, Kia, Suzuki, Mazda and Ford, petitioned Secretary Leandro Mendoza of the Department of Transportation and Communication to lift the suspension order on SLI’s fleet.
Mendoza is the chairman of the Marina Board, which has the power to order the resumption of operations of the shipping company.
The Marina Board failed to act immediately on Cada’s request because it was waiting for the results of the re-audit on the vessels. (EOB/NRC)
