ON ITS 30th year, Lite Shipping Corp., operating under the brand name “Lite Ferries” is establishing another milestone as it expands its connectivity to Luzon, particularly in Bicol from Cebu Island.
Dubbed as “the most exciting pioneering gateway to the Province of Cebu” in recent years, Lite Ferries is at the forefront in connecting Bogo City, Cebu and Matnog, Sorsogon in Luzon. This new alternative route will provide a quicker connectivity from Luzon to Visayas and Mindanao islands and vice versa.
The official launching and inauguration of the route will be on July 31, 2021 at the Polambato Port in Bogo City. The Maya Port in Daanbantayan will be an alternate port for the route depending on weather conditions due to changing monsoon seasons.
The Bogo/Maya to Matnog route was established after the successful entry of Lite ferries in servicing the Matnog, Sorsogon to Allen, Samar route upon the request of the Maritime Industry Authority (Marina) and the Department of Transportation.
The launching will be attended by Cebu Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia, Bogo City Mayor Carlo Jose Martinez and Daanbantayan Mayor Sun Shimura. Representatives from the Philippine Coast Guard and Marina will also be in attendance, together with the management and staff of Lite Shipping Corp., headed by its president and chief executive officer Lucio E. Lim Jr.
Economic booster
The opening of the Bogo/Maya to Matnog route will be a big economic booster for both Cebu and Sorsogon provinces, in terms of trade, commerce and tourism.
With a travel time of only nine hours, one can now travel direct, avoiding the hassle of island hopping trips and long waiting time.
The new route offers advantages such as less road usage, fuel savings, less vehicle wear and tear maintenance and most importantly, safety for drivers and passengers.
Lite Ferries is a “hall of famer,” having been awarded as “the cleanest ship of the year” by the Marina and the Bureau of Quarantine for many years.
It has economy, standard and tourist class accommodations with above Marina standards on passage ways and bed bunks accommodation. All Lite Ferries vessels are fully compliant on Covid-19 safety protocols and guidelines.
Schedule
The Matnog to Bogo/Maya trip departs at 11:45 p.m. every Monday, Wednesday and Friday while the Bogo/Maya to Matnog trip at 11:45 p.m. every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday.
The Matnog to Allen and vice versa route have three round trips daily with on-time departures. Matnog to Allen departs every 4 a.m. / 10 a.m. / 4 p.m. while Allen to Matnog departs every 7 a.m. / 1 p.m. / 7 p.m.
Shipping activities
Central Visayas’ shipping industry recorded increased activities in the first quarter of this year from its performance in the last quarter of 2020.
The National Economic and Development Authority 7 said the shipping industry has continued to recover in terms of shipcalls, and passenger, cargo and container traffic.
The number of shipcalls recorded in the first quarter of 2021 stood at 26,236, an improvement from the fourth quarter’s 23,848. This figure, though, is a reduction of 50.2 percent from 52,706 recorded in the first quarter of 2020 pre-pandemic period.
Passenger traffic, on the other hand, in the first quarter reached 1,138,000, an improvement from the 793,000 recorded in the fourth quarter of 2020.
Passenger traffic in the first quarter of 2020 stood at 7,495,000. (KOC with PR)