SUBIC BAY FREEPORT — The Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) is sending back to Manila port 16 containers vans containing undetermined materials that were found to be leaking and emitting a foul smell.
SBMA Chairman Roberto Garcia said that the containers were among the 721 container vans that arrived at the New Container Terminal 2 in the Subic Freeport on board M/V Asterix from the Port of Manila on Friday morning.
“After receiving reports that some of the containers are emitting a foul smell and are already leaking, we ordered them to be segregated from the other containers and be returned to Manila today (Monday),” Garcia said in a press conference here.
Garcia said that Subic has agreed to store container vans in order to assist the national government in addressing the congestion in Manila ports. “But that’s as long as they conform to the SBMA’s environmental laws and policies,” Garcia stressed.
“This should not happen again, that is why we will now ask for a full summary of each container van entering the Port of Subic from Manila,” he added. The SBMA is expecting more than 3,000 container vans to be delivered in Subic.
These are all either declared seized by the Bureau of Customs (BoC), or unclaimed and overstaying at the Manila International Container Port. Garcia explained that the economic loss due to delays of unloading the containers from ships was enormous.
“There is already no space in the ports of Manila for incoming containers, and Subic is the answer,” he added.
Garcia also announced during the media conference that there is a big possibility that NCT-2 may be declared as extension of the Port of Manila and may be designated as “Berth No. 7.”
