The first roll-on, roll-off (Ro/Ro) vessel to ply the Batangas and Marindugue route was financed by DBP Maritime Leasing Corp.
M/V Virgen de Penafrancia II is owned by Star Horse Shipping Lines.
The Ro/Ro vessel has been given a ‘missionary route operator status’ by the Maritime Industry Authority (Marina) and will particularly provide efficient, fast and reliable shipping service to residents of San Juan, Batangas and Mogpog, Marinduque.
The vessel was imported from Korea under the financial leasing program of DBP Maritime Leasing, a subsidiary of the Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP).
It will provide vital support to the agricultural, industrial, and regional development of Batangas and Marinduque.
In a statement, DBP said that the initiative falls under the bank’s Sustainable Logistics Development Program (SLDP) to provide an efficient network of transport infrastructure linking the entire country through a modern road Ro/Ro terminal system.