Daven Tamayo

Visayas shipping resilient amid fuel hikes, but ports may become bottleneck

Article (news)

Raine Musñgi

ABS-CBN News

<div><strong>Passenger traffic, tourism and cargo volumes continue rising despite higher fuel costs as shipping executive warns infrastructure is struggling to keep pace</strong></div><p>MANILA — Rising fuel prices and global economic uncertainties have failed to slow the movement of people and goods across the Visayas, but a shipping industry executive is warning that aging and underdeveloped port infrastructure could eventually become a major obstacle to growth.</p><p>Kyle Alexander Aznar, president and chief executive officer of Aznar Shipping Corporation, said demand for cargo transport has remained resilient despite fuel costs remaining one of the industry&#x27;s biggest expenses.</p><p>&quot;Despite the fuel crisis and everything, we were even thinking that demand or volume would go down. But based on our numbers, no, that&#x27;s not happening,&quot; Aznar told Ron Cruz during ANC&#x27;s Business Outlook on Wednesday.</p><p>The trend comes as Central Visayas continues to record strong travel and transport activity.</p><p>Regional data show passenger traffic reached 19.645 million in 2025, while tourist arrivals rose 8.57 percent to 2.55 million from 2.35 million in 2024. Roll-on/roll-off vehicle traffic also increased 2.5 percent to 462,000 units, reflecting sustained demand for inter-island mobility despite economic headwinds.</p><p>For shipping operators, much of that demand is driven by the movement of essential goods.</p><p>&quot;We&#x27;re transporting fuel. We&#x27;re transporting agricultural products. We&#x27;re transporting cement,&quot; Aznar said.</p><p>&quot;These are goods that you can&#x27;t really make do without, crisis or not. People will need it.&quot;</p><p>Aznar said the company&#x27;s own performance reflects the continued strength of regional demand.</p><p>&quot;Our quarter one of 2026 was better than our quarter one of 2025 by a large margin,&quot; he said.</p><p>The company currently operates 10 vessels serving routes across Cebu, Leyte and Negros and plans to add three more vessels over the next five years.</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>Ports falling behind</strong></div><p>While shipping operators continue investing in fleet expansion and modernization, Aznar said infrastructure development has not kept pace with growth in maritime activity.</p><p>&quot;What I see also is the growth of the maritime fleet, it has not kept pace with the development of the ports, especially in the feeder routes that we cater to,&quot; he said.</p><p>Many smaller ports throughout the Visayas, he added, remain constrained by limited capacity and insufficient development despite increasing trade and passenger traffic.</p><p>&quot;A lot of them have a lot of potential. It&#x27;s just that they haven&#x27;t really been developed to the full extent.&quot;</p><p>According to Aznar, upgrading port facilities and expanding navigational access could significantly improve efficiency across the shipping sector. </p><p>&quot;If the capacity was expanded, the depth was dredged, we could potentially deploy bigger vessels. We could potentially increase our frequency of trips,&quot; he said.</p><p>Without those improvements, he warned, infrastructure could eventually become a bottleneck to regional economic activity.</p><p>&quot;Some of the infrastructure in some areas hasn&#x27;t kept pace with the growth of the maritime industry.&quot;</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>Investing through uncertainty</strong></div><p>Fuel remains among the largest operating costs for shipping companies, particularly for operators serving short-haul, high-frequency routes across the Visayas.</p><p>Aznar said support from regulators and coordination with fuel suppliers have helped shipping operators navigate recent price volatility while maintaining services.</p><p>&quot;So far, we&#x27;ve been able to weather the crisis,&quot; he said.</p><p>Despite economic uncertainty, the company continues to invest in newer vessels.</p><p>One of its latest additions is the MV Alexander Aznar I, which now serves the Danao, Cebu-Isabel, Leyte route under a six-year route protection granted through MARINA&#x27;s modernization program. </p><p>The vessel also carries personal significance for the company&#x27;s chief executive.</p><p>&quot;My father passed away very suddenly,&quot; Aznar recalled.</p><p>&quot;I remember on his deathbed, I told him that particular ship was the kind of ship he always wanted. I promised him we&#x27;re going to get it.&quot;<br/>Four years later, he fulfilled that promise.</p><p>&quot;Luckily enough, four years after, I did get it. So that&#x27;s why I named it after him.&quot;</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>Outlook remains positive</strong></div><p>Despite fuel price pressures, weather risks and infrastructure constraints, Aznar remains optimistic about the future of inter-island shipping.</p><p>&quot;Seeing my own numbers, I can see it every day. I can see the numbers year on year ever since I started running the company four years ago, and it&#x27;s really been steadily increasing,&quot; he said.</p><p>For an archipelago where the movement of food, fuel, construction materials and people depends heavily on sea transport, the challenge ahead may no longer be demand.</p><p>The bigger question, industry players say, is whether port infrastructure can keep up with the region&#x27;s growing appetite for trade, tourism and connectivity.</p><p>Catch Kyle Aznar&#x27;s full interview exclusively on ANC&#x27;s Business Outlook.</p><div><br/></div><div><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/KUWC_-NzI1I? TRANSCRIPT LINK:autoplay=1&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span><br/></div>

<p>Rising fuel prices and global economic uncertainties have failed to slow the movement of people and goods across the Visayas, but a shipping industry executive is warning that aging and underdeveloped port infrastructure could eventually become a major obstacle to growth.</p>

Rising fuel prices and global economic uncertainties have failed to slow the movement of people and goods across the Visayas, but a shipping industry executive is warning that aging and underdeveloped port infrastructure could eventually become a major obstacle to growth.

Visayas shipping resilient amid fuel hikes, but ports may become growth bottleneck

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Visayas shipping resilient amid fuel hikes, but ports may become growth bottleneck

Raine Musñgi,

ABS-CBN News

Published June 19, 2026 12:40 PM PHT

Read More:

Visayas shipping

ports

infrastructure

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