SuperFerry Travel & Leisure, or SuperFerry, (formerly known as Aboitiz SuperFerry and later, WG&A SuperFerry) was a brand and part of Aboitiz Transport System Corporation (ATSC) and later, Negros Navigation Co. (NENACO), and was one of the largest ferry operator in the Philippines. It is now part of 2GO Travel.
History
April 1990 - Aboitiz Shipping Corporation introduced the Aboitiz SuperFerry brand by launching the M/V Aboitiz SuperFerry 1.
January 1, 1996 - Aboitiz Shipping Corporation merged with William Lines Inc. and Carlos A. Gothong Lines to form WG&A Philippines Inc. the Aboitiz SuperFerry brand was retained under its new name WG&A SuperFerry.
2002-2004 - Aboitiz buys the shares of William Lines Inc. and Carlos A. Gothong Lines making it a subsidiary of Aboitiz Equity Ventures. later in February 2004, WG&A Philippines Inc. was renamed to the Aboitiz Transport System Corporation (ATSC) and the brand was again retained.
March 8, 2005 - WG&A SuperFerry was rebranded to SuperFerry Travel & Leisure and adopted the blue and orange color scheme.
December 1, 2010 - ATSC's parent company, Aboitiz Equity Ventures and Aboitiz and Company Inc. sold the company and its brands to Negros Navigation Co. Inc. (NENACO), for US$105 million.[2] It included SuperFerry and its sister brands.
SuperFerry has operated 27 vessels during its lifetime:
SuperFerries
SuperFerry 1 - Was transferred and renamed M/V St. Rita de Casia by 2GO Travel and eventually sold to the Indonesian shipping company, Atosim Lampung Pelayaran PT and was renamed KM Mutiara Persada 1. In 2021, she was sold to local shipbreakers in Indonesia.
SuperFerry 3 - Lost due to fire incident in 2000, while the vessel was undergoing ship repairs in Keppel Cebu Shipyard, hot works on certain parts of the ship started a fire and caused evasive damages,[4] effectively gutting the whole vessel. WG&A later held the shipyard owners liable for the incident.[5]
SuperFerry 5 - Transferred to 2GO Travel and renamed M/V St. Joan of Arc; was retired from service and sold to breakers in Alang, India.
SuperFerry 6 - Former Our Lady of Akita of Gothong Lines, was transferred to SuperFerry and renamed SuperFerry 6 after the WG&A merger. In 2000, an engine fire on its starboard side swept the ship while en route to Manila from General Santos, October 2000;[6] all of the 862 passengers and 168 crew were saved and the fire brought under control, but the ship was a total loss.[7]
SuperFerry 7 - Former Naminoue Maru of A" Line in Japan, and built in 1980, she was sold to William Lines in 1994 and renamed the Mabuhay 2; later becoming a part of the SuperFerry fleet as part of the William, Gothong, and Aboitiz Shipping lines merger and was renamed SuperFerry 7. She was eventually lost to an extensive fire incident in 1997, wherein the whole vessel was gutted due to a presumed electrical fire while docked at Pier 4; same incident that would happen to her fleetmate SuperFerry 3 later in 2000, but this time, was caused by hot works around the ship. She only spent 3 years sailing under the Philippine flag after the acquisition from Japan.[7]
SuperFerry 8/19 - Built in 1977 as M/V Akebono Maru of A” Line shipping by Usuki Iron Works Ltd. in their Saiki, Japan shipyard. Sold in 1989 to William Lines and was renamed into M/V Sugbu. She was refurbished in Singapore and was renamed into Mabuhay 3 and eventually SuperFerry 8. Renamed into SuperFerry 19 after she was re-engined in Singapore in 2004. She was leased in 2006 by Peninsula, a shipping company in Papua New Guinea; temporarily renamed into Milne Bay. She later came back to SuperFerry. Was eventually sold to Jiangmen Xinhui Shipbreaking Co. Ltd; a shipbreaking company in China in 2011.[8]
SuperFerry 9 - Built in 1986 by Usuki Iron Works Ltd. at Saiki, Japan, and launched as the Ariake, it was later acquired by William Lines Incorporated in 1995 and renamed as Mabuhay 5. but before her maiden voyage in the Philippines, the ship was renamed SuperFerry 9. And she never entered service under William Lines and has been part of the SuperFerry fleet ever since. It was known to be a problematic ship, with engine problems causing delays and stranding of passengers. In 2009, due to a presumed rough sea conditions and shifting of cargo containers below decks, it capsized off the southwest coast of Zamboanga Peninsula while en route from General Santos to Iloilo and sank almost 5 hours after the first distress call sent by the captain. All 968 passengers and crew were accounted for. There were 10 fatalities.[9]
SuperFerry 10 - Built in 1973 as the Sun Flower 5 (Japanese: さんふらわあ5), one of the legendary Sun Flower ships of Japan's Blue Highway Line. She was later acquired and became the flagship of William Lines as the Mabuhay 1, part of their luxury liners to compete with former rival Sulpicio Lines. After the merger, she became WG&A's flagship and was renamed SuperFerry 10. She was eventually sold to breakers in China in 2002, still in perfectly good working condition, as a casualty of WG&A's liquidation of ships after the merger break-up. She only managed to sail for 9 years in Philippine waters after the William Lines acquisition.[10]
SuperFerry 11 - Renamed Our Lady of Banneux and transferred to SuperFerry's sister company, Cebu Ferries; sold and broken up in 2003
SuperFerry 12 - Renamed M/V St. Pope John Paul II and was the flagship of 2GO Travel. SuperFerry 12 was the former New Miyako of Hankyu Ferry of Japan and was sold to WG&A in 1996 and renamed to SuperFerry 12. She was involved in a collision with the passenger-cargo boat M/V San Nicholas in 2003.[11] She was later repaired and was later transferred to 2GO Travel in 2012. She was eventually sold to breakers in Chittagong, Bangladesh in 2021.
SuperFerry 14 - Built in 1981, as the White Sanpo 2, and was later acquired by WG&A in October 2000 and was advertised as a "Festival" ship for her many on-board amenities. On February 27, 2004, at around 12:50 midnight, while the ferry was sailing from Manila bound for Cagayan de Oro, an explosion tore through the vessel, starting a fire that engulfed the ship and caused many fatalities. The ferry later capsized half-submerged, further hampering rescue and retrieval operation of survivors and missing persons. Upon investigation, a Rajah Sulaiman Movement member confessed to planting a bomb which was triggered by a timing device on board for the Abu Sayyaf group, confirming a terrorist attack. The disaster was featured in various international news and media due to its magnitude and terrorism nature. All in all, of the 899 recorded passengers and crew on board, there were 116 fatalities, 53 remained missing and presumed dead. The ship was deemed a total loss by the company[12][13] and was later broken up.
SuperFerry 15 - Sold in 2007 and became CK Star, and was later sold to breakers.
SuperFerry 16 - Sold in 2007 to a Chinese company, renamed New Blue Ocean under Stena Daea Line and eventually was sold in 2016 to 2GO Travel. The vessel was renamed to M/V St. Therese of the Child Jesus. She was the last SuperFerry vessel sailing on Philippine waters until in 2024 when she was retired and sold.
SuperFerry 17 - Sold and renamed to Isabel Del Mar, and later sold and broken up in Aliağa, Turkey
SuperFerry 18 - Sold and renamed to Huadong Pearl VI, and was later sold to breakers in Chittagong, Bangladesh.
SuperFerry 20 - Formerly M/V Sunflower Kogane acquired from Diamond Ferry and was renamed to M/V SuperFerry 21 she was later renamed to M/V St. Gregory the Great under 2GO Travel, ran aground in near Guimaras and sold to breakers
SuperFerry 21 - Formerly M/V Sunflower Nishiki from Kansai Kisen Co., Ltd.; was acquired by Aboitiz Transport System and renamed to M/V SuperFerry 21 and was later renamed to M/V St. Leo the Great under 2GO Travel. She was eventually sold to breakers in Chittagong, Bangladesh in 2021.
Ferries
M/V Our Lady of Medjugorje - Sold to a shipping company in Indonesia and renamed to KM Makhota Nusantara.
M/V Our Lady of Sacred Heart - Retired and sold to breakers
M/V Our Lady of Lipa - Retired and sold to breakers in Alang, India
M/V Our Lady of Naju - Was eventually sold to breakers in China in 2002
M/V Doña Virginia - Retired and sold to breakers
M/V Zamboanga City - Retired and sold to breakers
M/V Maynilad - Retired and sold to breakers in 2003
M/V Masbate Uno - Transferred to Cebu Ferries and renamed to M/V Our Lady Of Manoag, broken up in 2005
Incidents and accidents
On March 26, 1997, SuperFerry 7 was hit by fire while docked in Pier 4 in Manila North Harbor. There were no more passengers left as the ship had already finished discharging them. It was WG&A's first major accident.
On February 8, 2000, SuperFerry 3 caught fire while undergoing repair in Keppel Shipyard in Cebu.
On October 12, 2000, SuperFerry 6 caught fire on its starboard panel and sank. More than 1,000 passengers were rescued.
On May 25, 2003, SuperFerry 12 was involved on a collision with a small passenger-cargo vessel, MV San Nicholas near Limbones Point, off Cavite province 33 nautical miles (61 kilometres) south of Manila. All 1,506 passengers and 184 crew members of the Superferry 12 were safe but unfortunatly at least eight people were killed and 132 had been rescued from MV San Nicholas.
On February 27, 2004, SuperFerry 14 was bombed by the Abu Sayyaf terrorists killing 116 people. It was considered as the worst terrorist attack in the Philippines.[14][15]
On March 9, 2006, SuperFerry 12 caught fire off the coast of Bantayan Island. None of the 664 passengers were injured.[16]
On September 6, 2009, SuperFerry 9 reported engine trouble while on its way to the port of Iloilo from General Santos. The ship then listed to a 30–40 degree angle, and at 2am the captain of the vessel ordered to abandon ship. It later sank off the southern Zamboanga Peninsula with more than 966 people on board. 957 people have been rescued but there are also 9 fatalities.[17]
Trivia
Before 2GO Maligaya, Masagana, and Masigla, SuperFerry 12, 15, 16, 17 and 18 were the only Philippine ships with an escalator on board.
Parts of the film Pacquiao about the boxer of the same name were filmed on board SuperFerry 18.
The Titanic parody Tataynic was filmed on board SuperFerry 12 and SuperFerry 19.
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