Tacloban City—After a hiatus of 16 years, Roble Shipping Inc. is set to revive the passenger ship route between Tacloban and Cebu, marking a significant milestone in the city’s maritime and economic rejuvenation.
According to Philippines News Agency, the inauguration of the service was celebrated with a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the M/V Claudine Star at Tacloban’s port, attended by First Lady Liza Araneta Marcos, Special Assistant to the President for Investment and Economic Affairs Frederick Go, Roble Shipping Inc. president and CEO Jose Emery Roble, and Tacloban Mayor Alfred Romualdez on Tuesday. “Let’s expect the influx of travelers and the stronger trade in our city, which will pave the way to further strengthen our economy and tourism,” Mayor Romualdez remarked at the event.
Roble Shipping introduced the newly refurbished M/V Claudine Star, a 74-meter-long vessel operated by Star Philippine Inc., its sister company. This initiative ends over a decade of inconvenience for Cebu-bound travelers from Tacloban, who previously had to endure more than two hours by land to Ormoc City or other southern ports of Leyte Island.
The M/V Claudine Star will operate three times weekly, sailing from Cebu to Tacloban every Friday, Sunday, and Tuesday, departing at 8 p.m. and arriving at 7 a.m. the following morning. From Tacloban, it leaves every Saturday, Monday, and Wednesday at 2:45 p.m., reaching Cebu at 2 a.m.
Tacloban port, once one of the busiest in the country with regular passenger sea vessel trips to Metro Manila and Cebu, saw a decline in activity after 2008 when Sulpicio Lines was suspended from passenger operations following the MV Princess of the Stars disaster during Typhoon Frank. Since then, the port has been utilized only by cargo ships.