The Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) is now eyeing a transhipment deal with Isuzu Motors under which the company's brand-new pickup trucks from the Isuzu plant in Thailand would be shipped through the port of Subic.
This developed as Wallem Philippines Shipping Inc. (WPSI), one of the leading ship agents in the country, offloaded in Subic over the weekend 257 completely built up (CBU) units of Isuzu D-Max pick-up trucks bound for Dammam in Saudi Arabia.
The Isuzu D-Max pick-up trucks, which are produced jointly by Isuzu Motors and General Motors Thailand, are being marketed in more than 130 countries since 2003.
SBMA seaport manager Perfecto Pascual said the shipment, which was offloaded from the roll-on roll-off (RORO) vessel Estrella Eterna, will stay in the free port for 15 days before reloading onto Eishun, which will bring the cargo to Dammam.
This is quite a significant development for Subic, which is being positioned as a major maritime logistics hub, said Pascual, who witnessed the unloading of the vehicles at Subic's NSD pier.
We really appreciate Wallem Shipping for starting this operation, and we will do what we can to make this a permanent arrangement, he added.
Antonio Calingo, WPSI sales manager, said his firm has chosen Subic as its transhipment hub because of its many advantages over other ports in Asia.
The security here in Subic is commendable, and the fees for storage, cargo handling, stevedoring and other services are really competitive, he said.
Calingo said the transhipment of Isuzu CBUs through Subic was a trial shipment to evaluate the performance of various service providers, including the WPSI as shipping agent, the stevedores, the cargo handler, and port operator.
He added the ship owners represented by Wallem needed a transhipment hub to service various shipping requirements.
If all goes well, this will bring in millions of pesos in terms of profit for Subic Bay, as well as boost the confidence of ship owners on the capacity of the port of Subic, Calingo said.
He added that his company is targeting to bring to Subic two vessels a month, once the service requirements are met.
Pascual, meanwhile, said the Subic port has been expanding its capability to provide better services to maritime vessels, pointing out the SBMA mandate to develop Subic into a global logistics hub.
He added the port of Subic has handled a growing volume of cargo in the last two years and surpassed 2006 records in terms of ship calls, gross registered tonnage, container volume, and bulk/breakbulk cargo tonnage.
Mark Borja, general manager of Amerasia International Terminal Services Inc (AITSI), which handled the Isuzu shipment, also expressed confidence that Subic can efficiently handle transhipment tasks.
He said the company has trained its staff, especially its 20 drivers, to handle cargo and ensure safe loading and unloading.
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