CARGO and passenger movement in major ports stalled for up to 24 hours last Thursday after super typhoon ‘Milenyo’ cut electric supply in the entire Luzon grid.
Cargoes passing through North Harbor were delayed after the North Harbor Port Authority suspended port operations due to bad weather and the blackout, North Harbor port manager Alex Cruz told PortCalls.
"By dawn Friday, all operations have returned to normal even if electric supply has not been restored," he added.
International Container Terminal Services, Inc. (ICTSI) and Asian Terminals, Inc. (ATI) slowed down operations on Thursday as a precautionary measure. But by Thursday evening, both cargo-handling operators restored full commercial operations.
At the Eva Macapagal Super Terminal, which handles the bulk of the entire domestic cargo and passenger volume, local passenger and cargo movement was delayed eight to 12 hours also due to the typhoon.
In a statement, Aboitiz Transport System Corp., whose SuperFerry vessels calls at the terminal, said SuperFerry 9 had to be put on hold and the embarkation and disembarkation of cargoes stopped for almost eight hours last Thursday due to delayed arrival of vessels and the stoppage of cargo-handling operations.
"We were only able to load and unload cargoes at the Macapagal Terminal on Friday. As early as Friday, ATSC immediately restored full commercial operations at the terminal and vessel voyages," it added.
On Thursday, typhoon ‘Milenyo’ directly hit Metro Manila putting the entire area as well as nearby provinces such as Cavite, Laguna and Bulacan on signal number 3. Milenyo was the most devastating typhoon that has hit the metro in the last 10 years.
