THE Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) does not expect to woo back vessel operators that dropped calls at Batangas port unless there is enough activity at the port.PPA assistant general manager for special and corporate affairs Raul Santos attributed the pullout to low cargo volume. "Until there is enough activity at the port, we don’t see these direct callers docking at Batangas again," Santos said.
He added that once the port has enough cargo volume to satisfy business operations of vessels, the operators will return.There are two vessels calling Batangas port once every two weeks, usually carrying completely-built up vehicles. Earlier, international shipping lines such as American President Lines dropped Batangas and instead chose to call at either Manila or Subic where they also enjoy several incentives.
Cavite-Laguna-Batangas-Rizal-Quezon (Calabarzon) locators Nestle and Yazaki Torres, this year also pulled out of Batangas due to lack of port facilities.The PPA is wooing back the Calabarzon companies to secure enough cargo traffic at Batangas and, in turn, win back international vessels.
"Batangas, really, is designed to cater to the needs of the Calabarzon," Santos said.
