Cokaliong buys new ship

Second-hand vessel from Japan expected to arrive mid-April

Cokaliong Shipping Lines, Inc. has acquired another passenger ferry from Japan, increasing its fleet to 11 roll-on-roll-off (Ro-Ro) vessels and one tugboat.

The M/V Eins Soya will arrive in Cebu in mid-April this year. It will be operational by July or August.

Chester C. Cokaliong, chief executive officer and chief operations officer, said they will rename the vessel as soon as its route has been finalized.

The second-hand vessel cost 450 million yen (roughly P180 million). After taxation and anticipated renovation costs, the total investment in the ship by the time of operation would be P250 million, Cokaliong said.

The company signed a contract with Kunimori Engineering Works, Co., Ltd. of Kobe City, Japan last January 14 for the purchase of the vessel.

The passenger ferry has a gross tonnage of 2,628 and a service speed of 15.5 knots. The 19-year old vessel has also been on international voyage, from the port of Wakkanai in Hokkaido, Japan to the port of Korsakov in Russia.

The vessel has several unique features, including computerized main and auxiliary engines.  Cokaliong said M/V Eins Soya is the second ship in the Cokaliong fleet with computerized engines, the first being M/V Filipinas Cebu.

Another feature found in the vessel is its bow thrusters, which are used for easier maneuvering at sea. Based on initial estimates, the ferry can accommodate at least 600 passengers.

Cokaliong told reporters that no definite route has been identified because many provinces and cities in the Philippines are currently requesting for additional trips.

Cagayan de Oro, the only city in Mindanao that is not being served by the company, is one of Cokaliong’s options.

Other options include additional services in existing ports of call, such as Nasipit, Osamis, Iligan and Masbate.

At present, Cokaliong has a fleet of 11 Ro-Ro ships and one tugboat. Its ports of call are Calbayog, Manguino-o, Cebu, Dapitan, Dumaguete, Iligan, Iloilo, Jagna, Maasin, Masbate, Nasipit, Ozamis, Palompon, Surigao and Tagbilaran.

Cokaliong said they were lucky to acquire this vessel, considering the increasing global demand for vessels.

“Swerte kaayo ko nga ang tag-iya nisugot og direct negotiation nako. Kaning barkoha, I negotiated this for nearly a year (I am very lucky that the owner agreed to directly negotiate with me. I negotiated for this ship for nearly a year),” he told reporters yesterday.

He said there aren’t enough available ships for sale in Japan, and shipping companies across the world have to compete to acquire one.

“Nihit jud kaayo ang barko. Daghan mag-atang (There are very few vessels. Many shipping companies are waiting),” he said.

As a result, Japanese shipping lines that want to sell their vessels have resorted to bidding out the ships to interested buyers. Prices of second-hand vessels have also increased because of the demand.

In one of his recent trips to Japan to inspect a vessel to be bid out later this year, Cokaliong said  there were 11 other interested buyers from other countries.

There are several other ship manufacturers all over the world, but Japan is widely known to make quality sea vessels.

In the case of the Philippines, Filipino engineers are more used to Japanese engines, having worked with them since apprenticeship. Using a vessel of a different make, such as one with a European-made engine, may be challenging for the engineers.

TAGS: Cebu, Cokaliong Shipping Lines