Lite Ferries president and chief executive officer Lucio Lim Jr. bares plans to buy two new vessels. /Irene R. Sino Cruz
CEBU CITY, Philippines–The Lite Ferries will be acquiring two brand new vessels this summer to add to their fleet.
Lucio Lim Jr., president and chief executive officer of Lite Shipping, said their estimated investment for each vessel would be around US$10 million.
According to Lim, the Ro-Ro vessels serve an important role in the economy since these brings products from Cebu to other destinations in Visayas and Mindanao.
For example, Ro-ro vessels carry products like beer and softdrinks as well as goods for the use of fast food chains in Bohol province.
“If the Coastguard suspends trips for three to four days, these fast-food chains will have problems in their inventory,” he explained.
Their two new vessels – Lite Ferry 5 and Lite Ferry 9 – are scheduled to be deployed this year.
Classed by RINA ITALY, Lite Ferry 5 will have GRT of 2,895 tons and two units of Weichai main engines with a total horsepower of 3,800. It will have a service speed of 14 knots, a passenger capacity of 500 and cargo capacity of 23 trucks.
On the other hand, Lite Ferry 9 has a GRT of 1,666 tons and two units of Weichai main engines. Classed by Bureau Veritas, the second vessel has a service speed of 12 knots, a passenger capacity of 400 and cargo capacity of 17 trucks.
Lite Ferry 5, which will serve Cebu-Oslob-Dipolog, will be deployed in the third quarter.
Lite Ferry 9 will serve the Jagna, Bohol-Cagayan de Oro route. Lite Ferries has a fleet of 25 Ro-ro passenger vessels in Visayas and Mindanao and serves 22 destinations.
Meanwhile, the shipping company also launched today, March 25, another passenger ferry, the Lite Ferry 19, the sister ship of Lite Ferry 18 and the youngest and fastest ferry that will ply the Cebu-Ormoc route.
Built in 2022, Lite Ferry will cut down travel time between two destinations to four and a half hours.
Senate President Vicente Sotto III, who graced the launching, cited the importance of having another Ro-Ro vessel serving inter-island routes.
Sotto noted that while waters separate the country’s islands, the Ro-ro vessels connect them. /dcb