THE Philippines is designating another vessel lay-up area to attract more operators to park their vessels in the country.
The Refuyo Pass along the Tanon Strait in San Carlos City in Negros Occidental will offer lower costs compared to lay-up areas in Davao and Subic Bay.
Operators choosing Davao's Malalag Bay tend to pay higher insurance premiums because of the area's high security risk while those in Subic require a full crew during anchorage. None of those conditions reportedly exist at Refuyo Pass.
Fees will mirror existing charges. The Philippines charges $90 to $117 per vessel per day as lay-up fee and $0.80 per GRT per day as anchorage fee.
Ship agents led by the Conference of Maritime Manning Agencies (COMMA) acting as vessel husbanding agents are, however, seeking a $15 share from the $90 per day lay-up fee.
COMMA is working with the Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) for a lay-up fee rate cut for foreign-flag vessels provided operators retain their Filipino crew who will be paid at a reduced cost or in domestic rates.
COMMA, PPA and the Maritime Industry Authority (Marina) are just awaiting the passage of a resolution from the local government of San Carlos City before marketing the area to potential clients.
As of this writing, there are at least 37 vessels laid up in the Philippines—30 in Subic Bay and 7 in Davao. By April, another 10 vessels are to arrive from Israel.
The Philippines, through the Department of Transportation, is aggressively marketing lay-up areas.
A study showed the broadening global economic downturn is expected to result in 6% of the global box ship fleet on standby or 750,000 TEUs by end-February from 5.5% in January.
