Batangas Port
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The Batangas International Port () or locally known as the Batangas Pier () is a
seaport A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Hamburg, Manc ...
in Barangay Santa Clara, Batangas City primarily serving the Calabarzon region of the Philippines. The seaport covers an area of about 150 hectares. It was declared as a national port in 1956. It serves as an alternate port to the Port of Manila. In the 1990s, it was the second biggest port in the Philippines in terms of revenue, just behind the Port of Manila.


Terminals


Cargo terminal

The Batangas Container Terminal (BCT) of the Batangas International Port is operated by listed Asian Terminals Inc. is a major trading port outside
Metro Manila Metropolitan Manila ( ), commonly shortened to Metro Manila and formally the National Capital Region (NCR; ), is the capital region and largest List of metropolitan areas in the Philippines, metropolitan area of the Philippines. Located ...
serving major industries in Southern Luzon. BCT handled over 85,000
twenty-foot equivalent unit The twenty-foot equivalent unit (abbreviated TEU or teu) is a general unit of cargo capacity, often used for container ships and container ports.Rowlett, 2004. It is based on the volume of a intermodal container, a standard-sized metal box tha ...
s (TEUs) of international containers from January to July 2016. In 2015, the terminal handled 130,000 TEUs in 2015, 28.9% of its actual capacity of 450,000 TEUs. The Port of Batangas in 2014 was only handling 12,000 TEUs or 2.7% of its actual capacity. Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) discounts in the port and docking fees at the Batangas Port attracted more foreign and local shipping firms and incentivized them for helping decongest Manila's facilities. In 2016 it was reported that the
Japan International Cooperation Agency The Japan International Cooperation Agency (), also known as JICA'','' is a governmental agency that delivers the bulk of Official Development Assistance (ODA) for the government of Japan. It is chartered with assisting economic and social gr ...
(JICA) has proposed to transfer operations of the Port of Manila to the Batangas International Port, citing the fact that most of the domestic shipping largely comes from South of Manila, saying that ship operating costs would be relatively lower if vessels were docked in Batangas City rather than in Manila. Other competing ports such as the Port of Subic Bay are also providing container storage services to ease congestion at the Manila ports. In August 2014, PPA reported an 85%–89% yard utilization for the MICT and Manila South Harbor.


Passenger terminal

The Batangas port is also a gateway for passengers, Roro/ferry (terminal 2) and tourist traffic. There are 3 passenger terminals located inside the port, after the toll entrance. The presence of a population of hustlers, tourist guides, and pushy unofficial port authority "helpers" targeting tourists can be a problem especially for foreign visitors who are not familiar with the organization of the terminal. The boats have tendency not to leave on time, and the poor reputation of the passenger terminal is in serious need of improvement. Some Roro ferry services also seem to consistently fail meeting maritime safety standards due to minimum ship maintenance, and chronic overload. On passenger terminal 3, ferry tickets for
Puerto Galera Puerto Galera, officially the Municipality of Puerto Galera (), is a municipality of the Philippines, municipality in the Philippine Province, province of Oriental Mindoro, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 41,961 ...
, a popular tourist destination, can be purchased directly on arrival next to the piers to Sabang, Whitebeach, Muelle and Balatero. This city is situated approximately 75 minutes away from Batangas port on the north tip of Mindoro island across the Verde Island passage from Luzon. Before boarding, passengers also need to a pay in cash a variety of local taxes such as an environmental user fee and terminal fee.
Puerto Galera Puerto Galera, officially the Municipality of Puerto Galera (), is a municipality of the Philippines, municipality in the Philippine Province, province of Oriental Mindoro, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 41,961 ...
is accessible through regular ferry lines operating 60 to 120 passenger outrigger ferries i.e. traditional big "bangka", including FSL or Father and Son Shipping Lines and MSL, Minolo Shipping Lines, Challenge and Passion Shipping Lines. Other passenger regular lines include access by ferry to : * the Sibuyan Island (Romblon province) from Batangas to the port of Romblon and then Cajidiocan, or with a transfer in Romblon to Azagra, Magdiwang/Ambulong. The journey from Batangas to Romblon needs the whole night. * Calapan (Oriental Mindoro province) by fast catamaran Roll-on/Roll-off (RoRo) ferries. The route is very much saturated. *Abra de Ilog (Occidental Mindoro province) by regular RoRo. * Caticlan (Boracay) in Aklan by fast catamaran Roll-on/Roll-off (RoRo) ferries.


Batangas Port Passenger Terminal Building

On April 26, 2024, President
Bongbong Marcos Ferdinand "Bongbong" Romualdez Marcos Jr. (, , ; born September 13, 1957), commonly referred to by the initials BBM or PBBM, is a Filipino politician who has served as the 17th president of the Philippines since 2022. He is the second child ...
inaugurated the new Batangas Pier passenger terminal. As the “biggest, busiest and most modern passenger building", it can now accommodate 8,000 passengers, from its previous capacity of 2,500 daily, thereby increasing annual passenger capacity from 4 to 12.8 million.
Philippine Ports Authority The Philippine Ports Authority (PPA; ) is a government-owned and controlled corporation under the Department of Transportation as an attached agency. It is responsible for the financing, management and operations of public ports throughout ...
General Manager Jay Daniel Santiago said that the terminal connects mainland Luzon to
Mimaropa Mimaropa (officially stylized in all caps), officially the Southwestern Tagalog Region (), is an administrative region in the Philippines. The name is an acronym combination of its constituent provinces: Mindoro (divided into Occidental Mindo ...
to Iloilo, Negros, Cebu, and Mindanao via
high-speed craft A high-speed craft (HSC) is a high-speed water vessel for civilian use, also called a fastcraft or fast ferry. The first high-speed craft were often hydrofoils or hovercraft, but in the 1990s catamaran and monohull designs become more popu ...
, ferries, and
Roll-on/roll-off Roll-on/roll-off (RORO or ro-ro) ships are cargo ships designed to carry wheeled cargo, such as cars, motorcycles, trucks, semi-trailer trucks, buses, Trailer (vehicle), trailers, and railroad cars, that are driven on and off the ship on their ...
ships.


Administration

The Batangas port is under the management of
Philippine Ports Authority The Philippine Ports Authority (PPA; ) is a government-owned and controlled corporation under the Department of Transportation as an attached agency. It is responsible for the financing, management and operations of public ports throughout ...
(PPA), the port administration in the Philippines, created in 1975 and attached to what is now the Department of Transportation (DOTr) for policy and program coordination. Port administration was merged with the traditional function of revenue collection of the
Bureau of Customs The Bureau of Customs (BoC or BOC; ) is a Philippine government agency that is responsible for the collecting of customs, customs duties, excise duties, and other indirect taxes in the Philippines. It is part of the Department of Finance (Philip ...
(BOC). PPA is also vested with the function of undertaking all port construction projects under its port system. The port falls within the administrative jurisdiction of the Customs Collection District of Batangas or Collection District IV, an area defined by the BOC which comprises the province of
Aurora An aurora ( aurorae or auroras), also commonly known as the northern lights (aurora borealis) or southern lights (aurora australis), is a natural light display in Earth's sky, predominantly observed in high-latitude regions (around the Arc ...
,
Batangas Batangas, officially the Province of Batangas ( ), is a first class province of the Philippines located in the southwestern part of Luzon in the Calabarzon region. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 2,908,494 people, making ...
,
Quezon Quezon, officially the Province of Quezon () and historically known as Tayabas, is a Provinces of the Philippines, province in the Philippines located in the Calabarzon Regions of the Philippines, region on Luzon. Lucena, a highly urbanized ci ...
,
Marinduque Marinduque (; ), officially the Province of Marinduque, is an island province in the Philippines located in Southwestern Tagalog Region or Mimaropa, formerly designated as Region IV-B. Its capital is the municipality of Boac, the most popul ...
,
Oriental The Orient is a term referring to the East in relation to Europe, traditionally comprising anything belonging to the Eastern world. It is the antonym of the term ''Occident'', which refers to the Western world. In English, it is largely a meto ...
,
Occidental Mindoro Occidental Mindoro (), officially the Province of Occidental Mindoro ( or ''Lalawigan ng Occidental Mindoro''), is a province in the Philippines located in the Mimaropa region. The province occupies the western half of the island of Mindoro. I ...
, and
Palawan Palawan (, ), officially the Province of Palawan (; ), is an archipelagic province of the Philippines that is located in the region of Mimaropa. It is the largest province in the country in terms of total area of . The capital and largest c ...
. Batangas City, which hosts the port, is defined by the customs as the district's principal port of entry while the sub-ports of entry are designated as
Puerto Princesa Puerto Princesa (, American Spanish: , European Spanish: ), officially the City of Puerto Princesa (Cuyonon language, Cuyonon: ''Siyudad i'ang Puerto Princesa''; ), is a Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, highly urbanized city in th ...
in Palawan and Plaridel, Quezon and Aurora.


Expansion and development issues

In March 2016, Operator Asian Terminals Inc. announce plans to invest primarily to improve port operations in the Batangas port, as well as the Port of Manila. The plan involves increasing the capacity of the port which is projected to accommodate more domestic passengers and international container cargoes. The port of Batangas can improve its attractiveness in providing competitively-priced electricity or energy to investors and in offering higher quality maritime services. Regulations and ease-of-doing-business policies and standard operating procedures can be improved significantly. The size of interior roads connecting the port leads to congestion that renders highways and expressways far less effective. The idea that the connection of the port to the Southern Tagalog Arterial Road (STAR Tollway) and South Luzon Expressway (SLEX) without passing through the Batangas City proper was since completed when STAR Tollway became connected with SLEX since December 2010. In addition, the revival or construction of a railway system connecting the Port of Batangas to
Metro Manila Metropolitan Manila ( ), commonly shortened to Metro Manila and formally the National Capital Region (NCR; ), is the capital region and largest List of metropolitan areas in the Philippines, metropolitan area of the Philippines. Located ...
would certainly accelerate its development. These topics are regularly debated at the provincial level, particularly during Batangas gubernatorial elections. On April 26, 2024, President
Bongbong Marcos Ferdinand "Bongbong" Romualdez Marcos Jr. (, , ; born September 13, 1957), commonly referred to by the initials BBM or PBBM, is a Filipino politician who has served as the 17th president of the Philippines since 2022. He is the second child ...
launched the port's expansion project during the Integrated Passenger Terminal building's inauguration.


See also

* List of East Asian ports


References

{{Ports and Seaports in the Philippines Ports and harbors of the Philippines Buildings and structures in Batangas City Transportation in Batangas