What is Verde Island Shipping Passage – Important Things You Should Know

The Verde Island Passage is located at the heart of the Coral Triangle in the western Pacific Ocean. It is a strait that distinguishes the Luzon and Mindoro islands in the Philippines.

Verde Island Passage is a vital shipping route, a marine biodiversity hotspot and a popular tourism centre & diving spot, contributing immensely to the regional economy.

Read further to know more about the Verde Island Passage.

1. A Vital Shipping Lane for Cargo Ships & Ferries

Verde Island Passage links the West Philippine Sea with Tayabas Bay and Sibuyan Sea which acts as a major shipping lane between Manila, Visayas and Mindanao and a famous maritime trade route to international ports in Batangas, Manila and Subic Bay.

Several ferries cross the passage to and from provinces like Romblon, Batangas, Occidental Mindoro, Oriental Mindoro and Marinduque.

Among the five provinces which constitute the Verde Island Passage, there are 96 ports, with Batangas province having the most ports, numbered 76, with 60 of them being private facilities. Oriental and Occidental Mindoro have 10 ports while Marindique and Romblon have 5 ports each.

2. Over 60% of ports in the Verde Island Passage are Private Ports

More than 63% of the ports in the Verde Island Passage are private ports and most ports in the passage offer RORO and non-RORO services. However, most ports offer services to cargo ships, especially RORO services.

Batangas Pier is a bust facility in the passage. Spanning 150 hectares, it functions as a starting point when sailing into and out of Calabarzon.

Ships also use these ports to deliver their cargo to the market sellers and there are oil tankers which dock here to deliver their cargo to various fossil fuel facilities.

The Philippine Ports Authority recorded 476,156 vessel calls throughout the nation’s ports in 2022, of which 76,226 vessel calls were recorded in Batangas, Mindoro and Marinduque.

3. Batangas International Port is the main facility in the Verde Island Passage

This port is situated in the southern portion of Luzon Island, around 120 km south of Manila. It is a gateway for travellers visiting the islands nearby and caters to passengers from the Calabarzon region.

It has two main terminals, one for passengers and the other for cargo handling. It has a favourable anchorage though ships can sometimes be exposed to southerly weather conditions.

It is equipped to handle RORO ships, passenger and cargo vessels, oil tankers, and bulk and break bulk carriers.

It also has open yards, cold storage facilities, oil and gas tanks and warehouses.

The facility deals with around 19,700,000 tons of cargo, 1,300 TEU, 39,000 ships and 5,500,000 passengers annually.

The port can accommodate ships with a maximum draught of 15 m and VLCCs up to 320,000 DWT can berth at Shell Sea Island, while huge container ships can use the two new berthing facilities.

Another important port is Calapan in Oriental Mindoro which is the main port of the province. It has a pier, and RORO berths for fast craft, conventional vessels and RORO Ships.

Its 7 berths handle copra, bananas, rice, cement, fertilisers and other miscellaneous cargo.

Its passenger terminal is said to be the biggest in the Philippines in terms of passenger capacity, handling around 3500 people. The port is visited by around 12,000 vessels annually.

4. Site of one of the oldest lighthouses in the Philippines

The historic Malabrigo Point Lighthouse is one of the oldest working lighthouses in the Philippines and one of the best preserved, given it was constructed in 1891.

It is located about 115 km southeast of Manila and guides vessels crossing the Verde Island Passage destined for Batangas Bay or Sibuyan Sea.

It was built by the Spanish colonial administration as part of a project to install 55 such lighthouses in the remotest part of the archipelago.

This is because, during that time, Malabrigo Point was seen as a dangerous region by sailors due to its rocky coasts and strong currents, especially in monsoons, which is why it was named ‘mal abrigo’ which in Spanish means bad shelter.

Made of brick and lime cement, it was completed in 1896 and lighted on October 1 of the same year for the first time.

During the Philippine-American War, the American vessel USS Villalobos guarded it. During the Second World War, it was damaged by machine gun fire but in 1980, it was automated. It now has a solar-powered light which was installed in 1994.

5. Site of a famous 16th-century Spanish Galleon wreckage

The wreckage of a Spanish Galleon which sank in 1620 is located in Verde Island’s southern part. Most of its cargo was taken away in the 1970s and ’80s, and nothing remains today, except a few pieces of porcelain and terracotta jars dating back to the 1500s. The vessel’s keel was removed and taken for conservation purposes.

Due to the presence of this wreck and the marine biodiversity, including coral reefs, Verde Island Passage is a popular diving site. Regular trips are done from Puerto Galera.

6. Called the ‘Amazon of the Oceans’

Verde Island Passage is a marine corridor with rich biodiversity. It has over 300 species of corals, underwater reefs, rock canyons, seagrass meadows, mangroves and 60% of all shore fish species in the world within a 10 km region! This is the reason it is called the Amazon of the Oceans.

The strait spans more than 1.4 million hectares and houses 1736 shore fish species. It also provides livelihood to more than two million Filipinos.

Marine conservationists declared the region as the ‘Center of the Center of Marine Shorefish Biodiversity’ in 2006.

Several threatened species like hawksbills, olive ridley and green turtles, giant groupers, giant clams, and humphead wrasses are present in the Verde Island Passage.

Verde Island, a volcanic formation in the passage is known for the rare red fin wrasse.

7. Fishing is forbidden in certain areas

There is a complete ban on all kinds of commercial fishing in certain parts of the passage, around Batangas Bays and Mindoro Island. Fish in markets of Puerto Galera is caught from distant regions like Roblon. This is vital to protect the marine biodiversity of the passage and prevent overfishing which was quite common a few years back.

8. Enjoys a tropical climate

The Verde Island Passage has a tropical climate with warm temperatures throughout the year and significant rainfall.

Average temperatures range from 25 degrees Celsius to 32 degrees Celsius all year round with little variation given its location.

The Verde Island Passage, like the Philippines, is prone to tropical storms and cyclones which usually occur from June to November, peaking in July to September though storms can occur outside this period too.

There are two monsoon seasons, the southwest monsoon from June to September which brings heavy rainfall to the western parts of the Philippines, including the Verde Island Passage.

The Northeast Monsoon lasts from October to March and brings less rainfall.

9. Known for strong currents making navigation difficult

Verde Island Passage experiences strong currents given it is a strategic route where waters from the South China Sea and Tablas Strait meet with the waters from the Sibuyan Sea, forming complex currents.

These currents accompanied by choppy conditions, especially during monsoon can make navigation dangerous, especially for small vessels.

Waters in the passage can be rough during southwest monsoon with storms and high waves.

The region also witnesses tidal changes which affect water movements. The narrow nature of the strait can also intensify the speeds of currents and waves in some places.

10. Received ‘Hope Spot’ Designation in 2023

The Verde Island Passage was named a Hope Spot by the Ocean conservation organisation Mission Blue.

Hope Spots are important regions which are scientifically established as vital to the good health of the oceans.

The decision is much appreciated since the passage lies within the most biologically diverse waters on the planet which face the wrath of pollution, climate change, overfishing and tourism.

This new designation will help protect its rich biodiversity and its economic and cultural significance, leading to support for safeguarding it as a marine protected area.

Conservationists are striving to get the Verde Island Passage declared as a Particularly Sensitive Area of the International Maritime Organisation.

11. Suffered from an oil spill recently

On February 28, 2023, the Verde Island Passage suffered from an oil spill after MT Princess Empress, an oil tanker loaded with 900,000 litres of industrial oil sank there.

Although cleanup was done and efforts were made to contain it, oil levels in some areas exceeded water quality standards.

The aftermath of the oil spill is still being faced today. Several fish died and the fishermen’s community is still severely affected.

The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines calls for justice as thousands of fishermen have been deprived of their livelihood.

However, the incident has led to an outrage and many are demanding to make the Verde Island Passage a Protected Maritime Area and prevent cargo ships from crossing this stretch of the sea.

12. Verde Island Passage is threatened by agro-chemicals & toxins

The Verde Island passage lies close to Batangas Bay which is turning into a major refining and petrol chemical hub in the Philippines. Batangas has 5 gas plans and 8 new are proposed to be built.

The use of agrochemicals, including pesticides and fertilisers on a massive scale is polluting Batangas Bay while urban waste and grey water are also being discharged there.

Other threats include climate change which is impacting the region’s coral formations, toxic air and water pollution, thermal pollution from seawater intake, leading to disruptions in the reproductive cycles of fish and consequently less catch, freshwater shortages as gas terminals compete with locals for meeting the supply needs, increase in shipping and displacement of coastal communities.

Conclusion

The Verde Island Passage is a strategic shipping route in the Philippines. It is best known for shorefish diversity and is called the Amazon of the Oceans. It has great growth potential, however, that needs to be balanced so its unique ecosystem can be saved from environmental threats like oil spills and pollution from nearby industries and gas plants. Due to this reason, many have demanded that the strait should be declared a marine protected area.

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About Author

Zahra is an alumna of Miranda House, University of Delhi. She is an avid writer, possessing immaculate research and editing skills. Author of several academic papers, she has also worked as a freelance writer, producing many technical, creative and marketing pieces. A true aesthete at heart, she loves books a little more than anything else.

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