A total of 20,280 vessels are engaged in domestic operations in the Philippines as of July 2014, up 6% from 19,011 as of December 2013, latest available data from the Maritime Industry Authority (Marina) show.
Marina said 5,934 of the total number as of July 2014 comprised passenger vessels, 2,924 container ships, 246 tankers, 541 tug boats, 27 dredgers, 27 yachts, 16 special purpose ships, 70 miscellaneous ships, four with no information, and 70 classified as others. Fishing vessels accounted for 10,373.
Compared to the December 2013 figures, the latest container vessel fleet and passenger fleet each grew 4% from 2,813 and 5,734, respectively.
As of July 2014, Asian Shipping Corp. which leases landing craft tanks (LCT), tugs and barges, was the top domestic shipping company in terms of gross register tonnage (GRT), with 125,715.23 GRT. In second place was Philippine Span Asia Carrier Corp (formerly Sulpicio Lines) with 110,007.05 GRT, and in third place was 2GO Group with 98,156.14 GRT.
Completing the top 10 were Asian Marine Transport Corp with 95,424.78 GRT, SMC Shipping and Lighterage Corp, 65,544.94 GRT; Oceanic Container Lines, Inc, 64,837 GRT; Solid Shipping Lines, Corp, 48,840.51 GRT; Lorenzo Shipping Corp, 44,475 GRT; Carlos A. Gothong Lines, Inc, 39,192.71 GRT; and MCC Transport Philippines, Inc, 39,115 GRT.
Almost all remained in their places since 2013, except for Lorenzo Shipping which jumped one place and replaced Carlos A. Gothong. MCC Transport, on the other hand, was not in the 2013 list.
In terms of vessel fleet, RBL Fishing Corp, which specializes in commercial fishing as well as processing of fish products, remained on top with a fleet of 107 vessels, up from 106 ships as of December 2013.
Asian Shipping followed with 101 vessels, then Irma Fishing and Trading, Inc with 96. Most of the companies in the top 50 domestic shipping enterprises in terms of vessel number were fishing companies or those engaged in tugs, lighterage, and LCTs.
Rounding up the top 10 companies in terms of fleet number were RLGFI Corporation (68 vessels), Universal Canning, Inc. (64), Rell & Renn Fishing Corporation (64), Amadeo Fishing Corporation (62), San Andres Fishing Industry, Inc. (62), Tuna Explorers, Inc. (62), and Frabelle Fishing Corp (59).
Overseas shipping
Meanwhile, a total of 401 companies engaged in overseas shipping service had been registered under Marina Memorandum Circular No. 186 as of August 2014.
The maritime authority has plans to revise MC No. 186 to also cover accreditation of international seafreight forwarders. Under Presidential Decree 474 or the Maritime Industry Decree of 1947, Marina has general jurisdiction over seafreight forwarding as well as other enterprises engaged in maritime services.
No update was available for the number of overseas vessels registered with the Philippines but the latest Marina data showed there were 116 vessels as of March 2014. Of the total, 53 were bulk carriers, 23 general cargo vessels, 10 tankers, eight livestock carriers, six car carriers, five container ships, four wood chip carriers, four multi-purpose carriers, one roll-on/roll-off, one dry cargo ship, and one chip carrier.
Marina also listed 238 companies engaged in ship building and ship repair as of August 2014. Of the total, 150 were registered within Metro Manila and the northern part of Luzon while 88 companies were in Batangas, Legazpi, Iloilo, Cebu, Zamboanga, Cagayan, Davao, and General Santos. – Roumina Pablo
