New service at Mindanao Container Terminal links Southern Philippines to Asia, Middle East
Mindanao Container Terminal (MCT) welcomes the new year strong with the launch of Regional Container Line’s (RCL) South Philippines 6 (RSP6) service that connects the Philippines’ Visayas and Mindanao regions to Asia and the Middle East via Singapore.
Launched in the Philippines through RCL’s Southern Philippine agent Eagle Express Lines, the fixed-day weekly service made its first port call to MCT on December 19 with the 628-TEU MV Pira Bhum.
The service is operated by two vessels and covers the Singapore – Cebu – Cagayan – Singapore route. The vessels turn in Singapore, which serves as a transhipment hub and provides competitive connections from Cebu, Cagayan de Oro, and Zamboanga to other Southeast Asian markets, the Indian subcontinent and the Middle East, while additionally serving the markets further north such as China and South Korea.
Headquartered in Thailand, RCL owns and operates 46 container vessels covering more than 66 destinations in Asia, India, India subcontinent, and the Middle East. The company has been operating in the Philippines for 32 years.
MCT, a subsidiary of International Container Terminal Services, Inc. (ICTSI), operates the terminal at the PHIVIDEC Industrial Estate in Tagoloan, Misamis Oriental. The company handles international and domestic cargo and offers container handling, yard management, reefer monitoring, and water bunkering among other port services. The port terminal serves as a transshipment hub connecting Northern Mindanao to the Visayas and other parts of the country.
In 2020, MCT expanded its port equipment fleet, extended the berth length through the installation of an inland bollard and dolphin moor, and opened a 4.5-hectare empty container depot (ECD) inside the terminal. With these investments and the presence of RCL, MCT projects a seven percent growth in 2021 – a highly significant target considering the global economy is still recovering from the pandemic.
MCT will continue to work to ensure that the business community in CDO has access to the rest of the Philippines, Asia, and the Middle East.
About International Container Terminal Services, Inc. (ICTSI)
Headquartered and established in 1988 in Manila, Philippines, International Container Terminal Services, Inc. (ICTSI) is in the business of port development, management and operations. ICTSI’s portfolio of terminals and projects are located in developed and emerging market economies in the Asia Pacific, the Americas, and Europe, the Middle East and Africa. Independent with no shipping or consignee-related interests, ICTSI works and transacts transparently with all stakeholders of the supply chain. ICTSI continues to receive global acclaim for its public-private partnerships, which are focused on sustainable development, and supported by corporate social responsibility initiatives.
