NYK makes direct call at Batangas

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Batangas_port_1Japanese carrier NYK Line for the first time will mount a direct service to the Port of Batangas from Japan to provide additional option to shippers challenged by the Manila truck ban.

NYK Line’s ACX Diamond voy-144S will sail set from Japan and arrive at the Port of Batangas on July 8. Vessel rotation is as follows: Osaka-Yokkaichi-Nagoya-Shimizu-Tokyo-Yokohama-Kobe-Kaohsiung-Batangas-Ho Chi Minh-Singapore-Manila-Osaka.

NYK Line Phils general manager Daniel Ventanilla said the carrier is mounting the adhoc Batangas service to “address various market discussions amongst shippers/consignees” and to “further understand their logistical requirements as we continue to find immediate-term solutions to making Batangas Port complementary to the Port of Manila.”

The NYK Group is not exactly a new player in the Batangas market. Its roll-on/roll-off /pure car carriers have been, for the last 10 years, calling the area’s two ports (Batangas-Sta Clara and Bauan) every week.

“We are expanding our existing RORO services to cater now to pure container requirements of our clients in the area,” Ventanilla told PortCalls.

Even with the Batangas service, NYK Line said it will continue to provide multiple options to shippers/consignees to and from Manila port to give customers the flexibility of using both the Manila and Batangas gateways.

“Manila will continue to be the main gateway for the Philippines with over 22 quay cranes handling close to 2.8 million TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent units),” Ventanilla said.

NYK Line said it considers Batangas Port, which has an annual capacity of 300,000 TEUs, a complementary port to Manila. In contrast to Manila, Batangas only has two quay cranes.

In the first quarter of the year, Batangas handled 3,819 TEUs, up 144% from the 1,564 TEUs in the same quarter last year. – Roumina Pablo