ILOILO City – After three years of research, planning and fabrication, a modern marine transport vessel developed by the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) and the Guimaras State University (GSU) is now in its last stages of construction and will soon be ready for sea trial.
“We are looking forward to transfer the vessel to the water this month, and subject it to sea trial by January next year, and regular testing by February,” DOST Western Visayas director, Engr. Rowen S. Gelonga, said.
“It’s a 60-passenger capacity commercial vessel, which we hope to showcase as a very good alternative for our wooden-hulled motor bancas plying the Iloilo-Guimaras route,” he said.
The DOST official added that the vessel meets national and international standards on marine safety, and showcases local skills and ingenuity in building marine transport.
Following the ferry losses on the Iloilo Strait in early August of 2019 – three traditional outrigger motorboats capsized and 31 people died – the DOST has been working with the then Guimaras State College and a private institution to develop an alternative to the wooden-hulled bancas.
The collaboration is one of the three ongoing projects of DOST in partnership with state universities in the region and a private shipyard in Aklan, that aims to position Western Visayas as a hub for marine transport research and development.
The two others are a modern fishing vessel being developed with the Northern Iloilo Polytechnic State College (NIPSC) as possible replacement for wooden-hulled fishing boats; and a 150-seater hybrid trimaran being developed with Aklan State University that can also carry up to four vehicles.
Gelonga said maritime transport modernization is a priority of the DOST. He expressed hope that other government agencies will support the modernization of maritime transport in the Visayas, and eventually in the whole Philippines. (PNA)/PN
