The Philippine Nautical Highway System, also the Road Roll-on/Roll-off Terminal System (RRTS) or simply the RoRo System, is an integrated network of highway and vehicular ferry routes which forms the backbone of a nationwide vehicle transport system in the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

. It is a system of roads and ports developed by the Philippine government to connect the major islands of

Luzon Luzon (; ) is the largest and most populous island in the Philippines. Located in the northern portion of the Philippines archipelago, it is the economic and political center of the nation, being home to the country's capital city, Manila, as ...

, the

Visayas The Visayas ( ), or the Visayan Islands (Bisayan languages, Visayan: ''Kabisay-an'', ; tl, Kabisayaan ), are one of the three Island groups of the Philippines, principal geographical divisions of the Philippines, along with Luzon and Mindanao ...

and

Mindanao Mindanao ( ) ( Jawi: مينداناو) is the second-largest island in the Philippines, after Luzon, and seventh-most populous island in the world. Located in the southern region of the archipelago, the island is part of an island group of ...

. The nautical highway was opened to the public on April 12, 2003 as the Strong Republic Nautical Highway (SRNH).

Detailed description and impact

Its route covers the provinces and cities of

Tagaytay Tagaytay, officially the City of Tagaytay ( fil, Lungsod ng Tagaytay), is a 2nd class component city in the province of Cavite, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 85,330 people. It is one of the country's most po ...

and

Batangas City Batangas City, officially the City of Batangas ( fil, Lungsod ng Batangas), is a 1st class component city and capital of the province of Batangas, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 351,437 people. Batangas City i ...

Calabarzon Calabarzon (), formally known as the Southern Tagalog Mainland, is an administrative region in the Philippines, designated as Region IV-A. The region comprises five provinces: Batangas, Cavite, Laguna, Quezon, and Rizal; and one highly urban ...

Marinduque Marinduque (; ), officially the Province of Marinduque, is an island province in the Philippines located in Southwestern Tagalog Region or Mimaropa, formerly designated as Region IV-B. Its capital is the municipality of Boac. Marinduque lies be ...

Romblon Romblon ( , ), officially the Province of Romblon, is an archipelagic Provinces of the Philippines, province of the Philippines located in the Mimaropa Regions of the Philippines, region. Its main islands include Tablas Island, Tablas, the large ...

and

Oriental Mindoro Oriental Mindoro ( tl, Silangang Mindoro), officially the Province of Oriental Mindoro, is a province in the Philippines located on the island of Mindoro under Mimaropa region in Luzon, about southwest of Manila. The province is bordered by th ...

;

Aklan Aklan, officially the Province of Aklan ( Akeanon: ''Probinsya it Akean'' k'ɣan hil, Kapuoran sang Aklan; tl, Lalawigan ng Aklan), is a province in the Western Visayas region of the Philippines. Its capital is Kalibo. The province is situated ...

Antique An antique ( la, antiquus; 'old', 'ancient') is an item perceived as having value because of its aesthetic or historical significance, and often defined as at least 100 years old (or some other limit), although the term is often used loosely ...

Capiz Capiz, officially the Province of Capiz ( Capiznon/ Hiligaynon: ''Kapuoran sang Capiz''; tl, Lalawigan ng Capiz), is a province in the Philippines located in the central section of Western Visayas region. Its capital is the city of Roxas. It is ...

Iloilo Iloilo (), officially the Province of Iloilo ( hil, Kapuoran sang Iloilo; krj, Kapuoran kang Iloilo; tl, Lalawigan ng Iloilo), is a province in the Philippines located in the Western Visayas region. Its capital is the City of Iloilo, the ...

Guimaras Guimaras , officially the Province of Guimaras ( hil, Kapuoran sang Guimaras; tl, Lalawigan ng Guimaras), is an island province in the Philippines located in the Western Visayas region. Its capital is Jordan while its largest local government ...

Negros Occidental Negros Occidental ( hil, Nakatungdang Negros; tl, Kanlurang Negros), officially the Province of Negros Occidental, is a Provinces of the Philippines, province in the Philippines located in the Western Visayas Regions of the Philippines, region. ...

and

Negros Oriental Negros Oriental ( ceb, Sidlakang Negros; tl, Silangang Negros), officially the Province of Negros Oriental, is a province in the Philippines located in the Central Visayas region. Its capital is the city of Dumaguete. It occupies the southeaste ...

Siquijor Siquijor ( , ), officially the Province of Siquijor ( ceb, Lalawigan sa Siquijor; tl, Lalawigan ng Siquijor), is an island province in the Philippines located in the Central Visayas region. Its capital is the municipality also named Siquijor ...

Cebu Cebu (; ceb, Sugbo), officially the Province of Cebu ( ceb, Lalawigan sa Sugbo; tl, Lalawigan ng Cebu; hil, Kapuroan sang Sugbo), is a province of the Philippines located in the Central Visayas region, and consists of a main island and 167 ...

and

Bohol Bohol (), officially the Province of Bohol ( ceb, Lalawigan sa Bohol; tl, Lalawigan ng Bohol), is an island province of the Philippines located in the Central Visayas Regions of the Philippines, region, consisting of the island itself and 75 m ...

; and

Misamis Occidental Misamis Occidental ( ceb, Kasadpang Misamis; Subanen languages, Subanen: ''Sindepan Mis'samis''; fil, Kanlurang Misamis), officially the Province of Misamis Occidental, is a Provinces of the Philippines, province located in the Regions of the Ph ...

and

Misamis Oriental Misamis Oriental ( ceb, Sidlakang Misamis; tl, Silangang Misamis), officially the Province of Misamis Oriental, is a province located in the region of Northern Mindanao in the Philippines. Its capital, largest city and provincial center is th ...

Lanao del Norte Lanao del Norte ( Cebuano: ''Amihanang Lanao''; tl, Hilagang Lanao; Maranao: ''Pangotaraan Ranao''), officially the Province of Lanao del Norte, is a province in the Philippines located in the Northern Mindanao region. Its capital is Tubod. T ...

, and

Dapitan Dapitan, officially the City of Dapitan ( ceb, Dakbayan sa Dapitan; Subanon: ''Gembagel G'benwa Dapitan/Bagbenwa Dapitan cbk, Ciudad de Dapitan''), is a 3rd class component city in the province of Zamboanga del Norte, Philippines. According to ...

Zamboanga del Norte Zamboanga del Norte ( Cebuano: ''Amihanang Zamboanga''; Subanon: ''Utara Sembwangan''; tl, Hilagang Zamboanga), officially the Province of Zamboanga del Norte, is a province in the Philippines situated within the Zamboanga Peninsula region in M ...

. This system reduced the previous usual travel time by 17 hours to the different key cities, enhancing the accessibility of the prime tourist destinations, minimizing the handling expenses of goods all over the country. (archived fro
the original
on August 19, 2007). Several bus companies operate routes using the nautical highway, including ALPS The Bus,

Partas Partas Transportation Co., Inc. is a bus transportation company in the Philippines. It operates a 24/7 service for passengers and freight (known as "waybills") between Metro Manila and northwest Luzon (the Ilocos corridor), with services also ru ...

, RORO Bus Transport,

Ceres Transport Ceres Transport, Incorporated (CTI) is a bus company under the umbrella of Yanson Group of Bus Companies (YGBC). It is based in Batangas City. It operates bus transport services in Batangas and Metro Manila, using the Strong Republic Nautical ...

, Bachelor Express, Gasat/Valisno Express and

Philtranco Philtranco Service Enterprises, Inc. (Philippine Transportation Company) is a bus company in the Philippines, servicing routes to Bicol, Eastern Visayas, Caraga, Davao Region, and Northern Mindanao. It is the oldest bus operator in the Philippin ...

. Each operates multiple daily bus trips over the SRNH between

Manila Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is highly urbanized and, as of 2019, was the world's most densely populate ...

bus terminals sited in

Cubao Quezon City (, ; fil, Lungsod Quezon ), also known as the City of Quezon and Q.C. (read in Filipino as Kyusi), is the List of cities in the Philippines, most populous city in the Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a populatio ...

and

Pasay Pasay, officially the City of Pasay ( fil, Lungsod ng Pasay; ), is a 1st class Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, highly urbanized city in the Metro Manila, National Capital Region of the Philippines. According to the 2020 census, i ...

and

Iloilo City Iloilo City, officially the City of Iloilo ( hil, Siyudad/Dakbanwa sang Iloilo; fil, Lungsod ng Iloilo), is a 1st class highly urbanized city in the Western Visayas region of the Philippines on the island of Panay. It is the capital city of t ...

, with connections available in Iloilo for onwards transportation. The SRNH segment between Manila and Iloilo runs by road to

, by ferry to

Calapan City Calapan, officially the City of Calapan ( fil, Lungsod ng Calapan), is a 3rd class component city and capital of the province of Oriental Mindoro, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 145,786 people. The city serv ...

, by road to Roxas,

, by ferry to Caticlan (gateway to

Boracay Boracay (; often locally shortened to Bora) is a resort island in the Western Visayas region of the Philippines, located off the northwest coast of Panay. It has a total land area of , under the jurisdiction of three barangays in Malay, Akla ...

, located in

Malay Malay may refer to: Languages * Malay language or Bahasa Melayu, a major Austronesian language spoken in Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei and Singapore ** History of the Malay language, the Malay language from the 4th to the 14th century ** Indonesi ...

) and onwards by road to

. Private van transport is generally available for hire over individual SRNH road segments, and the ferry segments accept walk-aboard passengers as well as vehicles.

Routes

Image:Philippines srnh western.gif, Western Nautical Highway -

Western Visayas Western Visayas ( hil, Kabisay-an Nakatundan; tl, Kanlurang Kabisayaan or ''Kanlurang Visayas'') is an administrative region in the Philippines, numerically designated as Region VI. It consists of six provinces (Aklan, Antique, Capiz, Guimara ...

Negros Island Region The Negros Island Region ( hil, Rehiyon sang Pulo sang Negros; ceb, Rehiyon sa Pulo sa Negros), also abbreviated and officially designated as NIR (unofficially ''Region XVIII''), was a short-lived administrative region in the Philippines which ...

and

Zamboanga Peninsula Zamboanga Peninsula ( tl, Tangway ng Zamboanga; cbk, Peninsula de Zamboanga; ceb, Lawis sa Zamboanga) is an administrative region in the Philippines, designated as Region IX. It consists of three provinces (Zamboanga del Norte, Zamboanga Sibu ...

Image:Philippines srnh central.gif, Central Nautical Highway -

Sorsogon Sorsogon, officially the Province of Sorsogon (Bikol language, Bikol: ''Probinsya kan Sorsogon''; Waray language, Waray: ''Probinsya han Sorsogon''; tl, Lalawigan ng Sorsogon), is a Provinces of the Philippines, province in the Philippines locat ...

Masbate Masbate, officially the Province of Masbate ( Masbateño: ''Probinsya san Masbate''; tl, Lalawigan ng Masbate), is an island province in the Philippines located near the midsection of the nation's archipelago. Its provincial capital is Masbate C ...

Central Visayas Central Visayas ( ceb, Tunga-tungang Kabisay-an; tl, Gitnang Kabisayaan) is an administrative region in the Philippines, numerically designated as Region VII. It consists of four provinces: (Cebu, Bohol, Negros Oriental, and Siquijor) and thr ...

Camiguin Camiguin, officially the Province of Camiguin ( ceb, Probinsya sa Camiguin; tl, Lalawigan ng Camiguin; Kamigin: ''Probinsya ta Kamigin''), is an island province in the Philippines located in the Bohol Sea, about off the northern coast of Min ...

and

Cagayan de Oro City Cagayan ( ), officially the Province of Cagayan ( ilo, Probinsia ti Cagayan; ibg, Provinsiya na Cagayan; itv, Provinsiya ya Cagayan; fil, Lalawigan ng Cagayan), is a province in the Philippines located in the Cagayan Valley region, covering ...

Image:Philippines srnh eastern.gif, Eastern Nautical Highway -

Leyte Leyte ( ) is an island in the Visayas group of islands in the Philippines. It is eighth-largest and sixth-most populous island in the Philippines, with a total population of 2,626,970 as of 2020 census. Since the accessibility of land has be ...

and

Southern Leyte Southern Leyte ( ceb, Habagatang Leyte; Kabalian: ''Habagatan nga Leyte''; war, Salatan nga Leyte; tl, Timog Leyte), officially the Province of Southern Leyte, is a province in the Philippines located in the Eastern Visayas region. Its capital ...

Dinagat Islands Dinagat Islands (Cebuano language, Cebuano: ''Mga Pulo sa Dinagat''; Surigaonon language, Surigaonon: ''Mga Puyo nan Dinagat''; Kabalian language, Kabalian: ''Mga Puyo san Dinagat''; Waray language, Waray: ''Mga Purô han Dinagat''; Filipino lang ...

and

Surigao del Norte Surigao del Norte ( Surigaonon: ''Probinsya nan Surigao del Norte''; ceb, Amihanang Surigao; Tagalog: ''Hilagang Surigao''), officially the Province of Surigao del Norte, is a province in the Philippines located in the Caraga region of Mindanao. ...

References

External links

*
A map of the SRNH is available on the Philippines Department of Agriculture web site.
* {{cite report , year = 2005 , title = The Study on Domestic Shipping Development Plan in the Republic of the Philippines : Final Report , url = https://openjicareport.jica.go.jp/pdf/11809522_01.pdf , publisher = Japan International Cooperation Agency , access-date = June 3, 2020 Roads in the Philippines Water transportation in the Philippines Transportation in Luzon Transportation in Mindanao Transportation in Palawan Transportation in the Visayas

Detailed description and impact

Routes

See also

References

External links