The Mactan Channel, also known as Opon Channel, is the strait between the island of

Cebu Cebu (; ceb, Sugbo), officially the Province of Cebu ( ceb, Lalawigan sa Sugbo; tl, Lalawigan ng Cebu; hil, Kapuroan sang Sugbo), is a province of the Philippines located in the Central Visayas region, and consists of a main island and ...

and the smaller Mactan Island. The body of water is located within

Metro Cebu Metropolitan Cebu, or simply Metro Cebu, ( ceb, Kaulohang Sugbo; fil, Kalakhang Cebu), is the main urban center of the province of Cebu in the Philippines. Metro Cebu is located along the central eastern portion of the island including the ne ...

, separating

Mandaue Mandaue (), officially the City of Mandaue ( ceb, Dakbayan sa Mandaue; fil, Lungsod ng Mandaue), is a 1st class highly urbanized city in the Central Visayas region of the Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 364,11 ...

and

Cebu City Cebu City, officially the City of Cebu ( ceb, Dakbayan sa Sugbo; fil, Lungsod ng Cebu; hil, Dakbanwa sang Sugbo), is a 1st class highly urbanized city in the Central Visayas region of the Philippines and capital of the Cebu Province. A ...

in mainland Cebu from

Lapu-Lapu City Lapu-Lapu City, officially the City of Lapu-Lapu ( ceb, Dakbayan sa Lapu-Lapu; fil, Lungsod ng Lapu-Lapu), is a 1st class highly urbanized city in the Central Visayas region of the Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a populat ...

on Mactan. It is one of the three channels that connect the Cebu Strait to the

Camotes Sea The Camotes Sea is a small sea within the Philippine archipelago, situated between the Central Visayan and the Eastern Visayan regions. It separates Cebu from Leyte hence is bordered by Cebu to the west, Leyte to the east and north, and Boho ...

— the other two being the Hilutangan Channel and the Olango Channel.

Overview

It is the main passageway for

ship A ship is a large watercraft that travels the world's oceans and other sufficiently deep waterways, carrying cargo or passengers, or in support of specialized missions, such as defense, research, and fishing. Ships are generally distinguishe ...

s navigating between

and

Bohol Bohol (), officially the Province of Bohol ( ceb, Lalawigan sa Bohol; tl, Lalawigan ng Bohol), is an island province of the Philippines located in the Central Visayas region, consisting of the island itself and 75 minor surrounding islands. It ...

. Several ferries to the other islands, Samar Island,

Leyte Island Leyte ( ) is an island in the Visayas group of islands in the Philippines. It is eighth-largest and sixth-most populous island in the Philippines, with a total population of 2,626,970 as of 2020 census. Since the accessibility of land has be ...

, Bohol Island,

Negros Island Negros is the fourth largest and third most populous island in the Philippines, with a total land area of . Negros is one of the many islands of the Visayas, in the central part of the country. The predominant inhabitants of the island region a ...

, Mindanao Island, and also to the ports of

Manila Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital city, capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is Cities of the Philippines#Independent cities, highly urbanize ...

, Cagayan de Oro, & Butuan City operate from the Port of Cebu and they extensively use this channel. The various ferries that operate out of this channel are: Weesam Express (SRN Fast Seacrafts, Inc.), 2GO Travel, OceanJet FastCraft, SuperFerry (Abotitz Shipping Company), Cokaliong Shipping Lines, & Sulpicio Lines. Also, there are various other small local ferry lines ( Catamaran) that operate and go to the various small islands of the

as well.

Infrastructure

There are also various hotels on either side of the channel, both in

and

, and on Mactan Island as well. The Mactan–Cebu International Airport is on the north side of Mactan Island, near the north end of the channel, and the Marcelo Fernan Bridge, should be used as the easier route to get there. There are two bridges that cross the channel, the Mactan–Mandaue Bridge, and the Marcelo Fernan Bridge, both of which connect both of which connect

on the Cebu mainland and

on Mactan Island. A third bridge, the

Cebu–Cordova Link Expressway The Cebu–Cordova Link Expressway (CCLEX), also known as the Cebu–Cordova Bridge and the Third Cebu–Mactan Bridge (or simply, the Third Bridge), is an toll bridge expressway in Metro Cebu. The bridge connects the South Road Properties in C ...

(CCLEX), connects Cordova in Mactan Island to

on the Cebu mainland. Marcelo Fernan Bridge

History

The Port of Cebu — the second largest port in the country — is located along Mactan Channel and has been used since the

Spanish Colonial Period Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...

. It was organized as a Channel in Cebu on March 1, 1958. The channel was first spanned by the Mactan–Mandaue Bridge in 1971 and then by the Marcelo Fernan Bridge in 1999.

External links

Mactan Reef Flat
lies on the port (right) side of this channel.
Mactan Channel Map
(location & coral reefs detail). Channels Straits of the Philippines Landforms of Cebu

Overview

Infrastructure

History

See also

External links