BIMP-EAGA shipping service to be revived

DAVAO CITY — The suspended shipping service between various cities in Mindanao and Bitung, Indonesia will resume and call at more ports within the BruneiIndonesia-Malaysia-PhilippinesEast Asean Growth Area (BIMPEAGA).

Eamarie M. Gilayo, development management officer at the Mindanao Development Authority (MinDA), said a Philippine shipping company, Reefer Express Line (REL), is finalizing the necessary requirements to reopen the route that will also include Muara, Brunei and Labuan, Malaysia.

“Right now, Reefer is meeting with stakeholders to ensure that there is cargo (demand),” Ms. Gilayo said. The company plans to use a 240-twenty-foot equivalent unit (TEU) vessel.

Ms. Gilayo said that the countries have also eased some restrictions on exports, but the Indonesian government has still required more documents on certain products, particularly those in agriculture. “Earlier, the Indonesian government imposed restrictions on food and beverage products, shoes, toys, textiles, electronics and parmaceuticals.

Ms. Gilayo said that on agricultural products, Indonesia is requiring certification from the Bureau of Plant Industry of the Philippines on the export of bananas and onions, certifying the areas of origin to be pest-free.

For pineapple and banana shipments, Indonesia also requested reciprocity from the Philippines in trading of the two commodities.

She added the company originaly planned to start operations in the first quarter, but because of the route expansion, it now expects to start within the next six months.

The Davao-General SantosBitung route was first launched in 2017 with President Rodrigo R. Duterte and his Indonesian counterpart, Joko Widodo, presiding over the inauguration.

At that time, the company servicing the route deployed a vessel with a capacity of 500 TEUs, but the service was suspended due to inadequate demand. It tried to revive the route with a smaller vessel, but this was also suspended.

At the BIMP-EAGA meeting in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah on Feb. 12-15, according to a document obtained by BusinessWorld, Reefer expressed its interest in servicing the route late last year.

At that meeting, representatives of Indonesia and the Philippines discussed the issue with the company and the private sector representatives.

The parties agreed to reactivate a joint task force on shipping and that the route be expanded.

Also at the meeting, the company presented its route plan as well as the type of vessel that it plans to deploy.