Say bye to Boracay’s wooden-hulled boats

Say bye to Boracay’s wooden-hulled boats
Boy Ryan B. Zabal - January 15, 2021 https://www.panaynews.net/say-bye-to-boracays-wooden-hulled-boats/

BORACAY – Wooden-hulled passenger boats are no longer allowed to operate the Caticlan-Boracay Island route beginning Jan. 19.

With its Certificate of Public Convenience (CPC) terminated or cancelled upon its expiration next week, the Caticlan Boracay Transport Multi-purpose Cooperative (CBTMPC) is left with no choice but abide with Maritime Industry Authority (MARINA) Memorandum Circular 2016-02 on the phase out of wooden-hulled ships.

CPC is a franchise or authority issued by MARINA to a domestic ship operator to engage in domestic shipping.

Two years ago, the boat cooperative and Aklan’s Sangguniang Panlalawigan sought a reprieve on the gradual phase out of wooden-hulled boats until 2023.

The appeal was made to allow local boat owners in Malay, Aklan more time to replace their wooden-hulled boats with plastic reinforced or fiber reinforced plastic (FRP) boats.

Last month, MARINA refused to renew the registration of all the wooden-hulled boats of CBTMPC, and likewise did not grant an extension to the phase-out for another year.

MARINA regional director Jose Venancio Vero Jr. said the current number of FRP boats serving the Boracay-Caticlan route is sufficient to handle the volume of passengers.

“To allow the continued operation of wooden-hulled passenger boats will render the government modernization program inutile,” read the letter-reply of Vero to CBTMPC chairman Godofredo Sadiasa.

To modernize its fleet, CBTMPC tapped the P135-million micro-financing Ferry Boat Inclusive Program of a government bank to buy brand new FRP boats. A 60-seater unit costs from P6.4 million and P10 million.

The boat cooperative is operating with a fleet of 23 modern passenger boats for safer and comfortable travel of residents, workers and tourists from Caticlan or Tabon ports in mainland Malay town to Boracay Island.

Operators affected by total phase out may use their 50 wooden-hulled boats solely and exclusively for the tourists’ island hopping, sports fishing, scuba diving and other tourism recreational activities.

These wooden-hulled boats engaging in tourism-related activities are exempted under MARINA MC 2016-02.

Sadiasa said the CBTMPC is also taking a bunch of modern boats to augment the operations of Jordan and Buenavista motorbanca cooperatives in Guimaras province.

CBTMPC had offered four modernized boats for the Guimaras-Iloilo route and an FRP boat in Dumaguit, New Washington, Aklan last year./PN