By GENIVI FACTAO

The new partnership of Aboitiz Transport System and Negros Navigation Co. Inc., is waiting for developments in the shipping industry.

First, will the franchise of Sulpicio Lines Inc., be cancelled?

Will Sulpicio shift business focus to cargoes alone?

The mother company of Nenaco is doing diligence on its P5 billion offer to buy ATS from the Aboitiz family.

Should the sale push through, the two companies will dominate the cargo industry with combined market share of over 45 percent.

For its part, an officer of Sulpicio Lines shrugged off the new shipping venture. Jordan Go, representative of SLI, saide "this is a free country, we can’t do anything about it".

Go, said that the company is not focusing on competition but on the retrieval operations of chemical cargoes, bunker fuel, and bodies from the MV Princess of the Stars.

Meanwhile even officials from the Maritime Industry Authority (Marina) talk about unofficial reports that SLI would shift to cargo operations and stay away from the passenger business.

The victims’ families represented by the Public Attorney’s Office (PAO) also sought for partial cancellation of SLI’s franchise. They only wanted that SLI operate its cargo vessels and not anymore the passenger to prevent similar incident such as the sinking of the Princess of the Stars.

Go said they have not reached any decision on the change in the configuration of their vessels to purely cargoes.

"We are constantly making an assessment on what is good for our business," Go said adding that they are also reviewing their business strategies.

SLI handles approximately 40 percent of the total domestic cargo volume, 25 percent of which is handled by their 8 dedicated cargo vessels and the 15 percent by its 11 combined passage-cargo vessels.

It has the widest port of calls servicing routes that could even be considered as missionary routes.

But now, ATS-NN is now the largest shipping company with a total combined cargo volume of 45 percent; ATS has 35 percent and NN has 10 percent.

For long haul passenger vessels, ATS handles 70 percent of the market while 30 percent for NN, according to Sulficio Tagud, NN chairman and CEO.

NN has a fleet of six, 3 of them are RoPax vessels and the 3 others are purely cargo vessels while ATS has 17 RoPax, or totaling to 23 vessels.

ATS and NN will have a coordinated scheduling of trips to cover all days and deploy other vessels to unserved areas and ports where SLI operate.

Due to the suspension issued by the Marina, SLI is not allowed to ferry passengers.

The uncertainty whether or not to cancel SLI’s franchise, brought opportunity to other shipping lines to take up their routes.

With the excess voyages, ATS-NN will try to cover areas that are non- serviced by SLI such as Surigao, Butuan, Masbate, Maasin, and Leyte.