PUERTO PRINCESA CITY, Palawan — The maiden voyage of the Kudat-Palawan roll-on, roll-off (RoRo) ferry link service between the Philippines and Malaysia will push through in April after a delay due to Tropical Storm Basyang last February.
Palawan provincial information officer Gil Acosta Jr. said on Saturday as he refuted a recent story published by East Malaysia’s online news site Daily Express which reported that the sea link is unlikely to start soon due to difficulties in documents and permits being faced by Archipelago Philippine Ferries Corporation, the operator of FastCat.
“Contrary to the recent news that claimed it will not push through, it will push through. Our last schedule was canceled only because of our own hesitation when there was a tropical storm (Basyang) in Palawan. It’s a go for us,” he said.
Acosta said the ferry service that would link Palawan to Kudat is just currently sorting out “certain papers” to ensure that travel would be smooth when it finally leaves the port of Buliluyan, Bataraza town, next month.
“In fact, we are looking forward to it because our livelihood programs are tied to the Kudat-Palawan RoRo, particularly our goat-raising dispersal program due to demands for goat meat in Malaysia,” he said.
In April, the RoRo ferry service will start with a test run that will be participated by local government officials to check on security and safety.
“The dry run will first happen for local government officials to check on the security of travel, and after that would be the maiden voyage with the media to see the ease of travel and propriety that it is really possible to go to Sabah,” said Acosta.
In terms of safety, the ferry service is well coordinated with the Philippine National Police Maritime Group, the Armed Forces of the Philippines, and other law enforcement agencies.
“Before we leave, we have to ensure security and safety because if not, one incident can end it all for us,” he added. (Celeste Anna Formoso/PNA)
