Port congestion expected to worsen during 5-day papal visit

The Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) yesterday reported that yard utilization at the congested Ports of Manila increased to 89 percent after the nine-day Christmas break and is expected to worsen with the scheduled visit of Pope Francis from Jan. 15 to 19.

PPA general manager Juan Sta. Ana said combined yard utilization at the Manila International Container Terminal ( MICT) of International Container Terminal Services Inc. (ICTSI) and Manila South Harbor of Asian Terminals Inc. (ATI) stood only at 79 percent last Dec. 24.

Originally, the Port Congestion-Multisectoral Working Group (PC-MWG) expected yard utilization to climb to 107 percent at the end of the Christmas holidays.

Sta. Ana said the PC- MWG again estimates that port congestion would increase by three percent a day during the Papal visit.

He pointed out that the number of vessels waiting at pilot station went up to 17 excluding the five currently docked at South Harbor and seven at the MICT as of Jan. 7.

“Unlike the nine-day Christmas break wherein all roads are open, the Papal visit will close almost all major routes to and from the Manila ports to give way to the festivities which will slowdown, if not paralyze, port operations,” he said.

Sta. Ana together with the Cabinet Cluster on Port Congestion (CCPC) headed by Secretary Rene Almendras appealed to cargo owners to pick up shipments cleared by the Bureau of Customs.

“We need the spaces in preparation for a worst-case scenario to accommodate the incoming import cargoes from vessels. We are anticipating difficulty accessing the ports during the Papal visit but we do not expect the vessels to slow down in bringing in cargoes for the country, so we are asking the participation of each stakeholder to maintain our decongestion efforts,” he added.

In 1995, Pope John Paul II visited Manila for the World Youth Day and it slowed down port operations for a couple of days. However, there was no port congestion at that time.

If yard utilization at the two Manila Ports remain at current level during five-day Papal visit, PPA warned that yard utilization would easily be back to congestion levels.

The City Government of Manila as well as the Metro Manila Development Authority already announced the closure of roads leading to and from the Manila Cathedral in Intramuros, UST in España, the Quirino Grandstand in Luneta, among others.