BY DOMINIQUE GABRIEL BAÑAGA
BACOLOD City – The Maritime Industry Authority (MARINA) in Western Visayas will also cease the operation of wooden-hulled passenger motorboats in Negros Occidental, just like its phase-out program for motorboats servicing the Iloilo City – Guimaras route and vice versa.
Motorboats that are likely to be affected are those plying the Pulupandan-Guimaras and the San Carlos City-Sipaway Island routes, according to Director Jose Venancio Vero Jr.
Vero said the Certificate of Public Convenience (CPC) issued for some wooden-hulled motorboats in Pulupandan already expired. He counted at least two operators are still allowed to set sail.
But most of the passenger motorboats there, he added, had ceased operations last year yet after the provincial government of Guimaras and the municipal government of Pulupandan enforced restrictions due to the coronavirus pandemic.
As of January, the said route is strictly maintained for cargo operations only.
For the San Carlos City-Sipaway Island, Vero said the CPC issued to boat operators in the area would expire either between late 2021 and early 2022.
So far, Vero said, operators there have not yet coordinated with MARINA if they would ask for an extension of their CPC.
“Hindi namin kaagad ‘yan [i-implement] kasi may mga evaluation pa kaming gagawin,” Vero explained. “Titingan namin kung ready na ba yung area or may facility ba na pwedeng daungan ang mga bagong boats.”
Vero explained that getting a fiberglass boat would be better compared to maintaining a wooden-hulled boat since they only have a maximum operating span of 15 years.
Fiberglass boats, meanwhile, if well-maintained, can operate longer, he said.
Vero also noted that when the fiberglass vessels plying the Iloilo City-Guimaras route were launched earlier this year, various operators and cooperatives started seeing the advantages of operating a modernized vessel.
“Makakayanan naman nila ‘yan ma-recover, likely mga three to five years,” Vero added./PN
