TACLOBAN CITY: The opening of the sea route between Calbayog City in Samar province and Matnog, Sorsogon, is expected to boost the local economy.
Mayor Raymund Uy said Wednesday that local trucking operators would no longer have to make a two-hour trip to Allen Port to ride a roll-on, roll-off cargo vessel to Matnog Port following the launch of the operation of MV Poseidon 49.
‘With this operation, cargoes waiting to cross in Matnog to Eastern Visayas and Mindanao will no longer have to wait for several days,’ Uy said in a telephone interview.
He urged cargo truck operators to travel through Maguino-o port in Calbayog instead for travel convenience.
‘We will ask to set up a priority lane for cargo trucking operators from our city,’ he added.
MV Poseidon 49, owned by Ormoc City-based ALD Sea Transport, had its maiden voyage on Jan. 28, aimed at improving connectivity between Samar Island and Luzon.
The Philippine Ports Authority said in a statement that the opening of the new route is in preparation for
the expected traffic congestion in parts of Samar Island due to the planned major rehabilitation of the national highway.
The ALD Sea Transport management said their ship will make a three-time daily trip, servicing carriage freight and rolling cargo only.
The cargo ship has an overall length of 93 meters and a breadth of 16 meters, and can accommodate 35 trucks per trip. Traveling from Calbayog to Matnog takes around three hours.
The shipping firm operation also serves the following routes: Ormoc to Cebu; San Ricardo, Southern Leyte to Lipata, Surigao del Norte; and Padre Burgos, Southern Leyte to Surigao del Norte.
Source: Philippines News Agency
