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WG&A Super Ferry’s 15 cruises boost inter-island travel
Source: Manila Bulletin
Author: Arlene Dabu-Foz
Date: 2003-03-07
 
The recently launched world-class Eva Macapagal Arroyo Super Terminal at Pier 15 in South Harbor, Manila has easily become another landmark in the country’s travel and tourism industry.







Ready to accommodate larger ships, the new terminal will provide passengers with the most amenities in inter-island travel 24hours daily, seven days weekly.





The idea of a very presentable and tourist-friendly terminal, allowing well-organized shipping operations at a reasonable cost, can not have come at a better time as the government bids to beef-up domestic tourism.





Coinciding with the Super Terminal’s opening is yet another highlight in sea travel, the launching of Super Ferry vessels 15 and 16 as the latest to the ever-growing fleet of the WG&A cruise lines.





Andrew Jude Deyto, WG&A’s vessel and port operations-in-charge, said the Super Ferry 15 is an eight-year-old vessel bought in Japan for R400million. Moreover, the company forked about R180million for its entire enhancement and safety make-over to make it more passenger-friendly.





For its maiden voyage, the Super Ferry 15 will take the Iloilo-General Santos-Davao route from Manila. The five-day round trip will take about 19 hours to Iloilo from Manila, then another 24 hours for General Santos.





Super Ferry 15 sails at 19 knots-per-hour and a maximum of 21 knots-per-hour. With passenger capacity of 1,938, the vessel has 180 crew members and 140 of them serve in the hotel.





The inter-island cruise liner has the facilities and amenities of a first class hotel. For entertainment, it has videoke, a disco pub and children’s playground. It has four food outlets such as the first-class dining restaurant, a cafeteria, 24-hour food service and a pool bar.





Aside from leisure packages, the cruise liner can also be an ideal venue for stay-in meetings and convention deals. With its roll-on-roll-off (RORO) facility, corporate groups and families can also bring along their cars for traveling around when they reach a destination. One hundred units of car can be accommodated aboard the vessel.





By 2004, the WG&A hopes to bring in two vessels every two years, one long and one short, to keep up with the demands of inter-island travel. The firm will also increase the frequency of lucrative routes to serve more passengers.





The WG&A management said their goal is in line with the government’s thrust to further develop domestic tourism. Among the top destinations of the Super Ferries are Cebu, Cagayan de Oro and Davao.





Some of the WG&A vessels’ edges are the very high levels of communication and their technical management is considered the best. The management also aims to enhance their freight system so that they can book and trace cargo faster. This, they say, will reduce the transport cost but not the freight rate.



 

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