THE Bids and Awards committee for the privatization
of the Mindanao Container Terminal (MCT) has completed evaluation
of bids submitted by three contenders for the port contract.
Dante Clarito, ports management manager of MCT operator Phividec
Industrial Authority (PIA), told PortCalls the PIA Board will
meet a week before March 31, the awarding date, to decide
on who will secure the 25-year port management and operation
contract.
“It has been completed. However, we will hold information
which among International Container Terminal Services, Inc,
Harbour Centre Port Terminals, Inc and Asian Terminals, Inc
is the likely winner until all papers have been completed
and submitted to the Board for approval next week,”
Clarito said.
“Nonetheless, PIA is confident that whoever wins will
be able to (help) MCT (become) one of the major players in
the local and global containerized shipping industry,”
Clarito added.
PIA is privatizing the management and operation of MCT to
attract more direct callers and increase cargo traffic in
the port.
MCT has four regular callers to date — Maersk, National
Marine Corp, Lorenzo Shipping Corp and MCC Transport, the
joint venture between Maersk and the Aboitiz Group’s
shipping unit.
WALLEM Philippines Shipping, Inc. (WPSI) is
eyeing Subic Bay Freeport as its transshipment hub, a move
seen to boost the freeport’s dream to become a premier
logistics hub in the Asia-Pacific region.
“The… fees, free storage, cargo handling, stevedoring
and other services including security are really competitive
(in Subic),” WPSI president Antonio Calingo, Jr said.
“Ship owners represented by Wallem need a transshipment
hub to service its various shipping requirements and Subic
could be it,” Calingo said.
WPSI is the Philippine agent for Heung-A Shipping Co., Eastern
Carliner and IRISL.
“If all goes well, this will bring in millions of pesos
for Subic Bay, as well as boost the confidence of ship owners
on the capacity of the port of Subic,” Calingo said.
Plans call for WPSI to bring two vessels a month to Subic.
Last week, WPSI transshipped completely built-up units (CBUs)
of Isuzu trucks in Subic as a trial shipment to evaluate the
performance of the port’s various service providers.
A total of 257 units of Isuzu D-Max pickup trucks were offloaded
bound for Dammam in Saudi Arabia. The vehicles are produced
jointly by Isuzu Motors and General Motors Thailand.
“We appreciate Wallem Shipping for starting this operation,
and we will do what we can to make this a permanent arrangement,”
SBMA port manager Capt Perfecto Pascual said.
THE Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) is no
longer pushing an out-of-court settlement with lot owners
in the Batangas expropriation case after the latter rejected
the agency’s proposal.
It may be recalled that the Supreme Court has ordered the
PPA to pay affected Batangas lot owners P5,500 per square
meter for their property. The PPA is appealing the case, sticking
to its claim that the appropriate expropriation price is P500
because the property was agricultural in nature.
In the out-of-court settlement proposal, PPA had wanted to
pay lot owners P1,000 per square meter or double the original
expropriation cost to expedite privatization of the port.
“I think we will just continue with the legal tussle
now pending with the SC and hopefully we could get the court
agree with our contention now that lot owners rejected our
proposal for an out-of-court settlement,” PPA general
manager Atty. Oscar Sevilla told PortCalls in a recent interview.
“Privatization will just have to wait a little longer
but we are still optimistic that the High Court will reverse
its earlier decision pegging expropriation at P5,500 instead
of the original P500 per square meter,” Sevilla added.
THE TSM Group of Companies, a ship management
and manning firm, is earmarking $2 million for expansion in
the country.
“For this year, we are planning to double the number
of vessels serving the Philippines from four ships to about
eight or 10 vessels at the end of 2008,” TSM Group chair
Olav Eek Thorstensen, said in an interview at the sidelines
of the company’s 20th anniversary.
“The additional vessel will translate to about 200 new
seafarers to be employed to man these ships,” he added.
“The number (200) is the (minimum) as other shipowners
have yet to decide whether to service the Philippines this
year or not. (The number) will increase definitely in the
next couple of years as we are very confident about business
in the Philippines,” Thorstensen stressed.
He added the company’s principals are undergoing their
own fleet expansion, propelling TSM to look at hiring even
more Filipino seafarers.
To date, the TSM Group co-owns about 215 ships, 50 of which
are manned by an all-Filipino crew. About 40% of the crew
in the remaining vessels are also Filipinos.
The TSM Group’s expansion announcement follows that
of Japanese firm ‘K’ Line’s. The latter
is expanding its fleet by 8% this year and by 50% from 2010
to 2012 to secure a larger chunk of the global freight market.
Most of the additional ‘K’ Line vessels will be
manned by Filipino seafarers.
Just last Friday, the Japan Shipowners Association (JSA) expressed
bullishness about maritime growth in Asia.
From 1999 to 2005, Asia posted a 9% growth with bulk cargo
powering the expansion, posting a 116% rise for the period,
the association said.
The trend is expected to continue as carriers invest in bigger
ships to connect economic juggernaut Asia to the rest of the
world.
ABOITIZ Transport System (ATS) reported a
net income of P420 million in 2007, up 133% from P197 million
in 2006.
The results were achieved despite the reduction in capacity
due to vessel right-sizing and drydocking of some vessels,
according to ATS finance chief Lilian Cariaso.
Consolidated revenues grew 4.7% to P11.1 billion. Earnings
before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA)
stood at P994.2 million.
Freight revenues reached P7 billion, 6% higher compared to
2006 partly attributable to higher revenues generated by the
international chartering business as well as the conversion
of unused passage capacity to make room for increasing freight
demand, especially for its roll on-roll off services.
The reduction in passage capacity led to an 11% drop in passage
revenues. ATS has taken initiatives to drive up passage demand
by offering year-round promotional rates.
In line with its strategy of building its supply chain management
services, the company’s revenues generated from this
business increased 123% to P1.016 billion.
For the year in review, three vessels were sold reflecting
total gains of P622.7 million. The proceeds from the vessel
sales were used to pay down P1.8 billion of debt. Consequently,
net finance costs decreased 79%, from P337.8 million to P69.9
million.
As of December 31, 2007, consolidated assets amounted to P8.6
billion and cash and cash equivalents stood at P820.9 million.
Total interest bearing debt was down to P570.2 million from
P2.4 billion in 2006.
THE Department of Transportation and Communications
(DOTC) said the country is on track in efforts to upgrade
its civil aviation status, especially with last week’s
signing of the Civil Aviation Authority Act of 2008.
It may be recalled that the US Federal Aviation Administration
in January downgraded from Category II to Category I the country’s
civil aviation status, citing safety concerns.
In a press briefing after the signing of the Civil Aviation
Authority Act of 2008, Transport Secretary Leandro Mendoza
said the law will strengthen the organizational structure
of the authority to be more responsive to the needs of the
country’s civil aviation industry as well as enhance
civil aviation regulation and enforcement.
The law creates the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines
(CAAP), which replaces the Air Transportation Office. The
CAAP is an autonomous body with quasi-legislative and quasi-judicial
powers possessing corporate attributes. It will have fiscal
autonomy with the power to generate, dispense and retain its
revenue and income independent from the budgetary restriction
of the Congress and the power to hear and decide civil aviation
cases.
The CAAP shall be responsible for the development and utilization
of the air potential of the Philippines; encouragement and
development of an air transportation system properly adapted
to the present and future of foreign and domestic commerce
of the Philippines; regulation of air transportation in such
manner as to foster sound economic condition in such transportation
and to improve the relations between air carriers; ensuring
safety, quality, reliability and affordability of air transport
services for the riding public; and encouragement and development
of a viable and globally competitive Philippine aviation industry.
“I am positive that the CAAP will be able to more than
adequately address the concerns raised by the US Federal Aviation
Administration and will allow us to regain Category 1 status
for it will be responsible for the provision of safe and efficient
management of all services permitting aviation access to and
from the Philippines. It will allow us to expand and upgrade
existing facilities, beef up personnel and raise the status
and capabilities of the country’s air transport systems,”
Mendoza said.
AFTER failing to reach its revenue goal for
January, the Bureau of Customs (BOC) is looking at reshuffling
its district collectors anew to meet its target collection
of P254 billion for the year.
Customs commissioner Napoleon Morales said the change will
involve all ports to prevent the “padrino” system.
“We have to do this as part of the measures to improve
our revenue generation. We are employing enhancement and alternative
measures to reach target, but we think reorganization will
help our cause,” he added.
A proposal for the reshuffle is now being assessed by the
Office of Undersecretary Gaudencio Mendoza.
BY 2010-2012, the Philippine ship registry hopes
to sign up 12.5% or 1,000 of 8,000 new vessel deliveries worldwide.
This will mean annual revenues of up to $25 million for the
government.
Maritime Industry Authority (Marina) administrator Vicente
Suazo, Jr said the executive order providing incentives such
as tax holidays and other perks to foreign shipowners listing
under the local registry is now with the Office of the President.
“Once approved, the locally registered ships will increase
significantly from 169 to more than 1,000 vessels in the initial
stages of implementation,” Suazo said.
The number is expected to increase about 10% annually, he
added, providing “more employment opportunities for
Filipino seafarers and cement(ing) our hold as the manning
capital of the world.”
“It will also bring logistics cost lower with more vessels
to choose from… unlike now the government trade is mostly
cornered by foreign-flagged vessels,” Suazo explained.
Among the proposed changes in the ship registry rules are
the scrapping of the 4.5% withholding tax and the introduction
of the tonnage fee and annual registration of vessels.
According to Suazo, these changes will boost Filipino shipowners’
competitiveness in landing the government’s foreign
trade in rice, corn and coal. The current rule forces locals
to register elsewhere to do away with the 4.5% withholding
tax to carry the government’s foreign trade.
Also, under the proposal, foreign-owned ships represented
by a ship management company duly accredited by Marina would
be entitled to fly the country’s flag.
THE Office for Transportation Security (OTS),
an attached agency of the Department of Transportation and
Communications, recently issued the National Ship Security
Certificate (NSSC) to ten container vessels managed by Magsaysay
Shipmanagement, Inc. (MSI). These are the first vessels in
the Philippines to be issued the NSSC by the OTS.
The certification is given to companies that have established
a security management system that conforms to the strict requirements
of the National Security Programme for Sea Transport and Maritime
Infrastructure.
Present during the ceremony were Mag-saysay Transport &
Logistics Group Chief Operating Officer Roberto A. Umali,
LSC VP-Operations Felicisimo H. Saldaña, NMCCLI General
Manager Jay R. Olivarez, MSI General Manager Capt. Debs M.
Milano and MSI Company Security Officer Capt. Rogelio Navarro.
OTS auditors examined and verified the compliance of the ten
vessels against the requirements of Section 7.3.5 Item A of
Book II of the National Security Programme for Sea Transport
and Maritime Infrastructure.
The MSI-QASS team, led by the Company Security Officer Capt.
Rogelio M. Navarro, conducted Ship Security Assessments, and
the results were developed into Ship Security Plans for the
ten vessels.
Container deposit fee agreement may come later than expected
THE memorandum of agreement (MOA) between the
Philippine International Seafreight Forwarders Association
(PISFA) and the Association of International Shipping Lines
(AISL) on the container deposit fee will likely not be signed
this month as earlier expected.
PISFA president Dexter Yu told PortCalls AISL is still consulting
with its member lines on the issue.
“I think our expected cut in cost starting from the
container deposit fee will not happen this month, but hopefully
they will decide as soon as possible,” Yu explained.
“We continue to remain optimistic that the carriers
will approve our proposal even if it takes quite a while,”
he added.
Based on the proposed MOA, AISL will accept checks issued
by PISFA members as a guarantee for containers. These checks
will only be deposited after the free time allowed by carriers,
usually five to seven days, has lapsed.
The checks will be drawn from a seed fund being put up by
PISFA and collected from its members.
PISFA members wanting to avail of the program will have to
put up a bond that will form part of the seed money for the
guarantee.
“There will be safety nets to be put in place to protect
the interests not only by PISFA but also the carriers,”
Yu said. “These safety nets should be followed in order
for the provisions of the MOA to take effect,” Yu added.
