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Zamboanga Port received its first international ship call on November 11 with the arrival of Thailand-based Regional Container Lines’ M/V Danu Bhum
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The service provides the region with direct access to international trade
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RCL is targeting to make two vessel calls at the port each month in support of the growing foreign import and export market requirements of the City of Zamboanga
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Since taking over the port last year, Globalport Zamboanga has acquired additional equipment and streamlined systems and procedures
Zamboanga Port received its first international containership on November 11 with the arrival of Thailand-based Regional Container Lines’ M/V Danu Bhum.
Port operator Globalport Zamboanga Terminal Inc. in a statement said the development provides the region with direct access to international trade.
The call is part of RCL’s new service rotation from Zamboanga to Singapore. The expanded RSP6 (RCL South Philippines Service 6) route now covers the Cebu-Cagayan de Oro-Zamboanga–Singapore loop.
Globalport said M/V Danu Bhum arrived at 6:00pm on November 11 and sailed off to Singapore the next morning as scheduled after unloading and loading cargo.
RCL in an earlier statement said the new service would open up opportunities for Zamboanga as the Philippines’ gateway to the Brunei-Indonesia-Malaysia-Philippines East ASEAN Growth Area.
READ: Zamboanga to welcome first international carrier with expanded RCL service
The Zamboanga Export and Import Confederation and the Canned Sardines Association of the Philippines also lauded the RCL service early on, calling it a breakthrough following their years of clamor for an international carrier to call Zamboanga and place the region on the international shipping map.
Globalport said RCL is targeting to have two vessel calls a month in support of the growing foreign import and export market requirements of the City of Zamboanga.
Since taking over Zamboanga port in July of last year, Globalport said it “has continuously enhanced the gateway by providing effective terminal management through streamlined systems and procedures implemented by a highly qualified and professional workforce that benchmarks its port operations on global productivity and efficiency standards for containers that meet the needs of an international container lines like RCL.”
Globalport said it has been acquiring more cargo-handling equipment since it won last year the 15-year contract to operate Zamboanga port under the Philippine Ports Authority’s Port Terminal Management Regulatory Framework (PTRMF), PPA’s new rules for terminal management contracts.
In December 2021, Globalport began to acquire two 45-ton Sany reach stackers, two 30-ton Sany forklifts, one 25-ton Sany forklift, two 16-ton Sany forklifts, three 5-ton Caterpillar forklifts, five 3-ton Caterpillar forklifts, four Terberg yard tractors, and five new trailers.
Globalport said ongoing improvements at Zamboanga port are intended to advance the gateway and boost the economy to benefit the city and its surrounding areas.
