Shipping Ports

The Philippines has some of the finest natural harbors in the world. The port of Manila has been an important trade center since the 9th century, trading with China, Japan, India, and middle-eastern countries.  The Philippines Port Authority is the government group in charge of financing, managing, and operating throughout the archipelago.  There are 2,456 ports in the country on record. Manila as the busiest port for international shipping in the Philippines, followed by Cebu and Iloilo.  Other port harbors are in Batangas, Subic Bay, Guimaras Island, Cagayan de Oro, Davao, Iligan, Jolo, San Fernando, Legaspi, Puerto Princesa, Maso, and Zamboanga.  There are many ports in the country, both large and small, in most of the islands in the Philippines.

Sea transportation plays an integral part of travel, a wide range of sea vessels are available, from huge cargo ships to small ferry boats, and fast crafts which dock at these ports.  Despite being slower than air transportation, sea vessels are highly effective in moving large non-perishable goods to different parts of the archipelago.  Schedules and rates of these Philippine inter-island sea vessels are available on the Internet and in community and national newspapers.

Luzon Ports
Transportation plays a very important role in the island economies of the Philippines.  Ports are important for long distance and logistics needs, inter-island routes providing roll-on roll-off vessel operations that connect the main islands of Luzon.  The common user ports are in the Manila South Harbor for international cargoes, the Manila International Container Terminal, and North Harbor for domestic cargoes.  These are government-owned  ports under the management of the Philippine Port Authority.  The port authorities also regulate private ports for industrial use though some operate-for-commercial use. Domestic shipping has improved its services after the deregulation of operations by the Philippine government.

Visayas Ports
The Port District of Visayas covers all the ports in the Visayas regions excluding Cebu, which is under the management of the Cebu Port Authority.  All vessels in the Visayans that engage in foreign trade are charged port dues at each call.  Through these ports, delivery of consumer goods, farm produce and livestock, has been made easier.  Storage is charged on cargo that remains in the government-owned port beyond the free-storage period.  Apart from its power to collect tariff and duties form importers, the Bureau of Customs has authority over cargo handlers and allows them to collect cargo handling and other port fees.

Mindanao Ports
There are good reasons to travel to Mindanao, like exploring the last remaining tropical rainforests in the Philippines and the allure of its islands for recreation and water sports.  Those seeking adventure in Mindanao can go climbing Mt. Apo, the highest mountain in the country, or visit the second largest lake in the country – Lake Lanao. The most- commonly transported commodities in Mindanao include coconut, rubber, iron ore conglomerates, banana and fresh pineapple.  More than 32,000 domestic and foreign vessels serve the ports of Mindanao. Mindanao’s ports have the potential of becoming the major growth driver of the country.  Most of the ports in Mindanao are expanding due the rapid influx of importers and improved cargo traffic.