Thursday, May 22, 2008 Foreign firm mulls using Subic Port as transshipment hub
AN INTERNATIONAL service provider is planning to utilize Subic Port as its transshipment hub to service various shipping requirements noting the port's viability over other facilities in Central Luzon.
According to Antonio Calingo Jr., Wallen Philippines Shipping Inc. (WPSI) sales manager, the firm has decided to make use of the Subic facility because of its many advantages.
"The security here in Subic is commendable, and the fees for storage, cargo handling, stevedoring and other services are really competitive," he said.
Wallem is the agent for international carriers Heung-A Shipping Co., Eastern Carliner and IRISL.
The firm first used the port for its completely build-up units (CBU) shipments in March when it offloaded 257 CBU units of Isuzu D-Max pickup trucks bound for Dammam in Saudi Arabia.
The pickup trucks manufactured jointly by Isuzu Motors and General Motors Thailand, are being marketed in more than 130 countries since 2003.
He said transshipment of the vehicles was a trial shipment to evaluate the performance of various service providers here, including the WPSI as shipping agent, the stevedores, the cargo handler, and port operator.
With the entry of Wallem, SBMA expects a bigger volume of containerized cargo to 43,490 TEUs from 36,451 TEUs in 2007.
Non-containerized cargo is targeted to increase to 2.66 million metric tons (MTs) this year from the 2007 record of 1.89 MTs.
Bulk carriers called a total of 333 times in the same period, navy ships with 293, and oil tankers with 206.
The firm is also considering to ink other deals such as this with other shipping lines, as it aggressively market Subic as the country's top transshipment hub. (FP/Sunnex)
