FIFTEEN foreign ships made maiden calls at the Port of Davao in the first five months of the year, 13 container carriers and three bulk or general cargo carriers.
“We are very pleased about the level of confidence that the international shipping industry and the maritime community in general have bestowed on our port,” Philippine Port Authority (PPA) port district manager Abdussabor Sawadjaan said.
The vessels that called Davao for the January to May period were MV Mell Siloso and MV Scan Oceanic, both from Germany; MV Ratha Bhum (Thailand); MV Kota Nekad, MV Kota Hening and MV Kota Raja (Singapore); MV Hansa Ravensburg, MV William Strait and MV Jost (Liberia); MV Gao Qiang (Hong Kong); MV Alexandros Theo (Marshall Islands); MV Mell Semakau and MV Mell Springleaf (Antigua and Barbuda); MV Leader (Russia); MV Thanh Thuy (Vietnam); and MV 2GO 2 (Philippines).
2GO2 was the only locally-registered container vessel to have called Davao. It is owned by Aboitiz Jebsen Transport System Corp.
This year, cargo throughput in Davao is expected to increase by about 5% to 3.708 million metric tons (mmt). Conventional cargo is seen rising by about 25,000 metric tons and container cargo by 12,000 TEUs. Domestic trade still accounts for much of Davao’s volume.
Davao has consistently registered cargo throughput growth of about 8% since 2000, save for 2001 and 2009 when it saw a 3% drop.
