RORO trip delays hound MARINA-6

The Maritime Industry Authority (MARINA-6) is confronted with complaints about delays in roll-on-roll-off (RORO) trips from Dumangas, Iloilo to Bacolod City and vice versa.

Passengers have been experiencing long queues and lengthy waiting time at the Port of Dumangas and Bredco Port. They said it took them five to six hours to board RORO vessels.

In an interview on IMT Conversations, lawyer Nicole Marie Amuan, MARINA-6 information officer, identified reasons for the problems but failed to provide concrete solutions to address them.

According to her, the problems are primarily due to the lack of vessels, facilities, and berthing windows as well as the high demand for travel.

Amuan added that the schedule of trips is also affected by the condition of coastal waters. The Port of Dumangas restricts vessels and limits the number of loaded vehicles during low tide.

She said MARINA-6 can request other operators to deploy more vessels, but they have to take into consideration the availability of berthing windows.

“If we have more vessels but gamay ang aton nga let’s say rampa, hindi man siya gihapon maka-accommodate.”

In terms of travel demand, Amuan said they observed that the number of passengers has been increasing since the government loosened its COVID-19 restrictions.

To avoid congestion, MARINA-6 will issue an order ensuring that RORO trips are consistent. It will also advise operators to inform their passengers of their delayed trips ahead of time.

Meanwhile, Amuan noted that based on the certificate of public convenience of the operators, only Tristar Megalink Corporation is under their jurisdiction.

“Other operators, such as Montenegro Shipping Line, FastCat, Island Ventures, are under different MARINA regional offices. So sila ang naga-grant sang schedule,” she explained.