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The Philippine Ports Authority handed a 30-day suspension to cruise vessel agents Ben Line Agencies Philippines and TravelPeople Ltd for a recent chaotic situation involving disembarkation of a cruise ship
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The suspension took effect on December 21
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It resulted from the social media post of a passenger on the MV Norwegian Jewel which docked at the Manila South Harbor on November 30
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PPA general manager Jay Santiago said the suspension allows the agents time to review processes and prevent a recurrence
The Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) handed a 30-day suspension to cruise vessel agents Ben Line Agencies Philippines, Inc. and TravelPeople Ltd. Inc. The action is in response to passenger disembarkation issues during the call of MV Norwegian Jewel at Manila South Harbor on November 30.
The suspension, effective from December 21, follows an investigation initiated after a December 9 Facebook post by a passenger named Nelson Terible went viral. Terible described “cruise chaos” during the disembarkation, highlighting concerns such as the absence of porters, lengthy queues, and what he called a lack of concern from PPA personnel.
Ben Line is the ship agent of MV Norwegian Jewel and TravelPeople, the shore excursion agent for the cruise ship operated by Norwegian Cruise Line.
PPA general manager Jay Santiago said the suspension allows the operators to review their processes for service improvement, ensuring the prevention of similar incidents.
“This kind of incident is unacceptable especially since there were pre-arrival meetings to prepare for the turnaround call where about 2,300 passengers would disembark and 2,500 passengers would also board the cruise ship,” Santiago said.
In a letter to TravelPeople dated December 21, Catherine Esto, manager of PPA Port Management Office NCR South, outlined the company’s lack of concrete plans to address concerns raised by Terible. TravelPeople was directed to provide a detailed plan for improving its standard operating procedure on cruise operations.
PPA previously mentioned on December 14 that the incident was “isolated,” attributing it to the failure of Ben Line and terminal operator Asian Terminals Inc. (ATI) to deploy personnel for passenger traffic management.
Despite prior meetings to prioritize safety, ATI and Ben Line did not fulfill commitments to provide personnel for traffic management and porters, PPA said. Only 20 civilian porters were present to assist over 2,300 disembarking passengers and 2,505 embarking passengers, exacerbating the situation, it added.
To help with “improper coordination and poor handling of ATI and Ben Line,” PPA said they issued 1,150 temporary vehicle passes and established a Malasakit Help Desk. However, traffic worsened when embarking passengers arrived early, contrary to the pre-arrival agreement.
Ben Line responded on December 18, stating that TravelPeople was responsible for the movement of passengers. TravelPeople’s buses, which provided transfer services, had designated parking, but only 40% of passengers used this service, contributing to port congestion.
ATI, for its part, claimed Ben Line did not inform them of baggage declaration in the terminal, causing additional delays. Santiago maintained the incident was unacceptable, given the preparations made during the pre-arrival meeting for the cruise ship’s turnaround call.
With the suspension, Ben Line and TravelPeople are barred from providing services for a cruise tour scheduled to arrive on January 6, 2024.
“They [Ben Line Agencies and TravelPeople] will not be able to provide services, and probably another agent or service provider will be engaged by the arriving cruise ship. We will not allow this incident to happen again because it is embarrassing to those who visit the country,” Santiago said.
Concerned agencies will meet again to prepare for the arrival of the cruise ship at Manila South Harbor on January 6, bringing in over 6,000 passengers. Santiago noted ongoing efforts to improve port facilities when receiving big cruise ships, as the Philippines was named Best Cruise Destination in Asia for 2023.
“For its part, the PPA has been improving our ports to promote tourism. So our partners should also improve in servicing passengers. We just want to correct the deficiencies in the viral post and we also thank Mr. Terible for bringing this to the public’s attention,” added Santiago.
