Manila Integrated Cargo Terminal
Manila Integrated Cargo Terminal is a port company operating in Manila, Philippines. Our primary purpose is to own, develop, manage, invest, maintain, and operate port facilities in the Philippines.
A bulk and break bulk terminal to support and complement existing facilities at South Harbour (ATI), Manila International Container Terminal (ICTSI) North Harbour (MNHPI) and Harbour Center to make Manila a one-stop shop for carriers and shippers.
Manila Integrated Cargo Terminal (MICT) has been operating a port/terminal facility since 2006. It has developed and acquired operational expertise to handle different cargoes subjected to lighterage such as steel, gypsum, silica sand, wheat, and grains to name a few.
Its cargo terminal with a total area of about 2 has. located near the mouth of Pasig River between ATI and ICTSI (MICP). It has a total frontage of around 320 meters, capable of accommodating barges and LCT’s up to 5,000 DWT (shallow draft). The facility has an extensive array of lifting equipment such as cranes, forklifts, yard truck, conveyors, bulk-hopper, truck scale and transit sheds to meet requirements of various clients. Manila Integrated’s affiliate Northstar Shipping & Marine Services Inc., provides integrated cargo handling at the anchorage area for bulk and break-bulk commodities on board panamax vessels.
Manila Integrated Cargo Terminal is strategically located near three major international ports namely Asian Terminals Inc (ATI), Manila International Container Terminal (ICTSI) and Harbour Centre Port Terminals Inc..
ATI and MICT/ICTSI are more focused on container operation in the port of Manila and have limited space for the handling of general cargo. Hence, these terminals adopt a shipside discharging operation for the handling of general cargo, particularly for imported products such as steel, gypsum, silica sand, corn, feed meals, soya, and wheat.
Harbour Centre is dedicated to the handling of general/bulk cargo in the port of Manila. However, its draft limitation of 10-11 meters requires that vessel with deeper draft must undergo shipside discharging at the anchorage/lightening berths to attain safe draft before going pierside to Harbour Centre for cargo discharging. This condition results to longer waiting time for vessels at Harbour Centre which at its worst may last up to more than 60 days.
Shipping companies utilize bigger vessel (handymax, supramax and bigger) to lower the transportation cost of the cargoes originating from longer distances. These bigger vessels have a draft in excess of the 12-meter draft limitation of ports in Manila and, thus, will require lightening while at anchorage before they can proceed pierside for unloading.
Furthermore, during instances of port congestion, cargo owners prefer to discharge their cargoes while at the anchorage area rather than incur demurrage fees for the extended stay of queued vessels awaiting their turn to go pierside. Thus, there is a notable comeback of the lighterage industry in Manila. Terminals along Pasig river serve as unloading point for such cargoes that can no longer be unloaded at the main terminals.
The mode of transport of goods from the mother vessel at anchorage to the terminals along Pasig River are barges and tugboats. Currently, the availability of barges to support lighterage operations within the port of Manila is a major issue among cargo handlers, shipping agents, importers/consignees, and international cargo terminals. These stakeholders incur incremental costs due to the non-availability of barges, as follows:
Incur demurrage/detention charges if they are not able to meet the max number of days vessel laytime stated in their contract with the clients.
Are responsible to the vessel principal to ensure the most expedient discharge of cargoes and thus reduce vessel standby time in the port of Manila. Inadequacy in the number of barges for lighterage will increase standby time of vessel specially during congestion.
Need the cargoes to be delivered in time to support their manufacturing / business operations. Inadequate number of barges for lighterage will be detrimental to this need.
For the International Cargo Terminals, an inadequate number of barges for use in lighterage delay lightening of vessels for pierside discharging.
The availability of deck barges for lighterage operation in the port of Manila is largely influenced by the cyclical state of the mining industry. Between the months of November to March, mining operation activities in the east coast of the Philippines is normally at a standstill due to the effect of the Northeast Monsoon, at which there is an abundant supply of deck barges in the port of Manila. However, deck barges are not suitable for handling bulk cargo that is sensitive to water exposure. This type of cargo is best transported using hatch barges. The hatch of this type of barge have covers that protect the cargo from exposure to water especially during the wet season.
The number of hatch barges in the Port of Manila is currently insufficient to meet the volume of water sensitive bulk cargoes especially during peak season. Manila Integrated Cargo Terminal’s Integrated Lighterage and Cargo Handling Services within the port of Manila complements remedial measures addressed to the current difficulties being experienced by the surrounding international ports, as well as the need of cargo and vessel owners for the expedient discharging of cargoes.
Integrated Lighterage and Cargo handling covers the following services; Provision of barges, equipment and manpower for lighterage including checkerage services, discharging of cargoes to the terminal, loading of the cargoes to the consignee’s truck, or in some cases, actual delivery of the cargoes to the importers’ warehouse.
Manila Integrated Cargo Terminal’s undertaking involving integrated lighterage and cargo handling services allows the company to possess and enjoy an edge and over other lighterage firms which do not have their own terminal. Full control of the terminal translates to more efficient and expedient discharge rate of cargoes which is very critical factor in the lighterage and integrated cargo handling industry. A slow discharge rate causes downtime in the utilization of barges and increases the risk of vessel demurrage.Given the five berths available and under full control of Manila Integrated, the company only has to increase the manpower and equipment through outsourcing whenever necessary to increase cargo discharge rate to meet corresponding requirement.
The following are the ideal target commodities for integrated lighterage & cargo handling services in the port of Manila:
Vessels carrying steel cargo intended for pierside discharging are generally lightened to reach safe draft before moving in. The steel subjected to lightening are either unloaded at the discharging portor at one of the domestic terminals along Pasig river. Regardless of the discharging venue, this operation requires the use of barges and tugboat to transportthe steel cargo from cargo vessel to terminal. Vessels carrying steel cargo intended for full shipside discharging require barges (either deck barges or hatch barges) to transport said from the anchorage to the domestic ports along Pasig river. These are then pulled out by the importers/consignees using trucks.
MAIZE, feed meals and soya are usually discharged shipside at the anchorage area using only hatch barges since these cargoes are sensitive to water exposure. These are brought to the domestic terminals along Pasig river for warehousing, bagging and eventual pullout using dump trucks and wing vans. Some cargoes are directly delivered by barge to the importer/ consignee’s compound located along Pasig river.
Vessels bringing in Gypsum and cement clinkers with a draft of only 9.5 meters and below can go direct to pierside at Harbour Centre to discharge the productfor stockpiling and eventual pullout by dump trucks. However, if the waiting time forthe cargo vessel at anchorage is more than 3 days, the shipping owner usually opts to discharge these cargoesshipside using hatch and deck barges. Cargoes from the barge are unloaded for stockpiling inside the terminal or are loaded direct to dump trucks for delivery to the consignee/importer. Vessels bringing in Silica Sand resort to shipside discharging to hatch barges to prevent contamination. Upon reaching the terminal, the silica sand is loaded direct to dump trucks for delivery to the importer/consignee. Double handling of Silica sand is as much as possible avoided because of the risk of contamination and consequential rejection by the importer/consignee upon delivery.