The SuperCat Fast Ferry Corporation, commonly known as SuperCat, is a brand and part of Chelsea Logistics & Infrastructure Holdings Corp. that operates a fleet of high-speed

catamaran A catamaran () (informally, a "cat") is a watercraft with two parallel hull (watercraft), hulls of equal size. The wide distance between a catamaran's hulls imparts stability through resistance to rolling and overturning; no ballast is requi ...

s (HSC) in the

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

. SuperCat was previously the sister company of

SuperFerry SuperFerry Travel & Leisure, or SuperFerry, (formerly known as Aboitiz SuperFerry and later, WG&A SuperFerry) was the passenger travel and leisure brand of the Aboitiz Transport System Corporation (ATSC) and later, Negros Navigation Co. (NENACO ...

, Cebu Ferries and

2GO Travel Go, GO, G.O., or Go! may refer to: Arts and entertainment Games and sport * Go (game), a board game for two players * ''Travel Go'' (formerly ''Go – The International Travel Game''), a game based on world travel * Go, the starting position l ...

. SuperCat operates 10 vessels in 5 ports around the Philippines.

History

Batangas Batangas, officially the Province of Batangas ( ), is a first class province of the Philippines located in the southwestern part of Luzon in the Calabarzon region. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 2,908,494 people, making ...

Calapan Calapan, officially the City of Calapan (), is a component city and the capital of the province of Oriental Mindoro, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 145,786 people making it the most populous in Oriental Mi ...

route is one of the most important

shipping route A sea lane, sea road or shipping lane is a regularly used navigable route for large water vessels (ships) on wide waterways such as oceans and large lakes, and is preferably safe, direct and economic. During the Age of Sail, they were determined b ...

s in the Philippines. During the early 1990s, the route was dominated by a single large shipping company. Travelling during those days could take up to 3 hours and be uncomfortable. In 1994, Rodolfo G. Valencia, then Governor of

Oriental Mindoro Oriental 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 the Verde Island P ...

, invited the Aboitiz Group to ply the route. His intention was to bring a more convenient and faster alternative to

Mindoro Mindoro is the seventh largest and eighth-most populous island in the Philippines. With a total land area of 10,571 km2 ( 4,082 sq.mi ), it has a population of 1,408,454, as of the 2020 census. It is located off the southwestern coast of ...

. Under the management of Universal Aboitiz Inc., M/V ''SuperCat 1'', their pioneer vessel, traveled between Batangas and Calapan in only 45 minutes. SuperCat added routes throughout the

Visayas The Visayas ( ), or the Visayan Islands (Bisayan languages, Visayan: ''Kabisay-an'', ; Filipino language, Filipino: ''Kabisayaan'' ), are one of the three Island groups of the Philippines, principal geographical divisions of the Philippines, a ...

Region.

High-speed craft A high-speed craft (HSC) is a high-speed water vessel for civilian use, also called a fastcraft or fast ferry. The first high-speed craft were often hydrofoils or hovercraft, but in the 1990s catamaran and monohull designs become more popu ...

s became popular in the

. In 1997, Sea Angels (owned by

Negros Navigation Negros Navigation Co., Inc. (NENACO) was one of the oldest domestic shipping companies in the Philippines. It was also one of the largest companies in the shipping business in the Philippines. Its main hub was in Pier 2, Manila North Harbor. In ...

) merged with Universal Aboitiz and Hong Kong Park View Holdings to form the Philippine Fast Ferry Corporation.An assessment of Year One of the Aquino administration
(30 June 2011)
philippinebusiness.com.ph
(archived fro

on 2011-07-22). SuperCat also acquired the 2 vessels of Waterjet Shipping Corporation (owned by Waterjet Netherlands Antilles). They renamed it as '' SuperCat 17'' (former ''Waterjet 1'') and '' SuperCat 18'' (former ''Waterjet 2''). The merger was eventually dissolved in 2002 and SuperCat became solely owned by Aboitiz. The abolition of the WG&A merger then soon unraveled. SuperCat sacrificed some of its vessels and their corresponding routes in order to sustain its fast craft operations. SuperCat also downsized from 200 to just 100 employees. From the 1990s to early 2000s, all SuperCat vessels were waterjet-propelled. Due to economic problems, Aboitiz was forced sell ships reducing an original fleet of fourteen down to just seven. To cope with the soaring fuel prices, SuperCat started replacing their previous fleet with more fuel-efficient vessels. All jet-powered SuperCat HSC vessels were replaced by more fuel efficient vessels using a simple propulsion system.SuperCat buys new vessel for $1.7M
(October 17, 2007)
supercat.com.ph
(archived fro
the original
on 2009-03-19). In commemoration of the

Philippine Centennial The Philippine Centennial was a series of celebrations by the Philippine government to primarily commemorate the 100th anniversary of the proclamation of Philippine Independence on June 12, 1898. Background The Philippine Centennial primarily c ...

, SuperCat repainted some of its vessels with a "Philippine Flag Livery". SuperCat has owned three

monohull right A monohull is a type of boat having only one hull, unlike multihulled boats which can have two or more individual hulls connected to one another. Fundamental concept Among the earliest hulls were simple logs, but these were generally unstab ...

fast crafts, namely SC 20, 21, and 23.

Sharon Cuneta Sharon Gamboa Cuneta-Pangilinan (born January 6, 1966) is a Filipino actress, singer, and television personality. Prolific in multiple fields of entertainment, she is known for playing dramatic and comedic leading roles in film and television. ...

filmed SuperCat's TV advertisement in both

Batangas City Batangas, sometimes called Batangas City and officially called the City of Batangas (), is a 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 ...

and

. The ad was only advertised on board and through local cable networks TV ad in Roxas, Oriental Mindoro and

Iloilo City Iloilo City, officially the City of Iloilo (; ; ), is a Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, highly urbanized city in the Western Visayas Regions of the Philippines, region of the Philippines, located on the southeastern coast of th ...

. SuperCat used to have its own exclusive terminal and docking area in

. This was built after the loss of ''SuperCat 1'', where sabotage was suspected. The terminal was eventually demolished after a bigger and better public terminal was opened for use in the second quarter of 2010. SuperCat was sued for mandating an additional terminal fee on top of the fare in

, for use of their newly constructed exclusive terminal. SuperCat was then forced to remove the terminal fee. In 2012, after

acquired SuperCat's parent company, Aboitiz Transport System, all of SuperCat vessels briefly became part of

. The SuperCat brand was later re-established and became part 2GO Group. In 2019, SuperCat was acquired by the

Dennis Uy Dennis Ang Uy ( zh, c=, p=Huáng Shūxián, poj=N̂g Chu-hiân, s=, t=, first=poj; born September 26, 1973) is a Filipino businessman, government official, and diplomat. Uy is the founder of Udenna Corporation, which has stakes in various bus ...

-led Udenna Group through its Chelsea Logistics & Infrastructure Holdings Corp. from the 2GO Group. Chelsea Logistics had previously acquired an indirectly ownership of 28.15% of Supercat in 2016 and took over management of SuperCat the same year. At the time Mr. Uy was chairman of the 2GO Group.

Routes

As of 2024, SuperCat serves the following routes.

Fleet

The SuperCat fleet is composed of 11 high-speed

s, but they also owned

ed vessels.

Vessels

Former vessels

*''SuperCat 1'' (sank-off en route to Calapan, Mindoro Oriental) *''SuperCat - I'' (sold to Emeraude Lines renamed as ''NORMANDIE EXPRESS'', later renamed as ''Moorea Express'') *''Supercat 2'' (sold to Korean Shipping Company KOREA EXPRESS FERRY CO., Ltd, renamed as ''Korea Express'') *''SuperCat 3'' (sold to Croatian Shipping Company

Jadrolinija Jadrolinija is a Croatian ferry company. It is state-owned and it primarily connects Croatian islands to the mainland by operating regular passenger and cargo transport services. The company mainly operates car ferries on domestic routes along t ...

, renamed as ''Karolina'') *''SuperCat 5'' (sold to Croatian Shipping Company

, renamed as ''Judita'') *''SuperCat 6'' (sold to Moreton Bay Whale Watching, sold to Seo Kyung Korea renamed as ''Gold Coast'') *''SuperCat 7'' (sold to Croatian Shipping Company

, renamed as ''Novalja'') *''SuperCat 8'' (sold to Croatian Shipping Company

, renamed as ''Dubravka'') *''SuperCat 9'' (sold to Croatian Shipping Company, renamed as ''Bisovo'') *''SuperCat 10'' (sold to Korean Shipping Company WONDERFUL ISLAND CO., renamed as ''Mosulpo 1'' (모슬포1호)) *''SuperCat 11/St. Raphael'' (sold to Italian Shipping Company

Ustica Ustica (; ) is a small Italian island in the Tyrrhenian Sea. It is about across and is situated north of Capo Gallo, Sicily. Roughly 1,300 people live in the ''comune'' (municipality) of the same name. There is a regular ferry service ...

Lines, renamed as ''Federica M'') *''SuperCat 12/St. Gabriel'' (sold to Italian Shipping Company

Lines, renamed as ''Gabrielle M'') *''SuperCat 17'' (sold to

Wightlink Wightlink is a ferry company operating routes across The Solent between Hampshire and the Isle of Wight in the south of England. It operates Roll-on/roll-off, car ferries between Lymington and Yarmouth, Isle of Wight, Yarmouth, and Portsmouth a ...

for use between

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. Most of Portsmouth is located on Portsea Island, off the south coast of England in the Solent, making Portsmouth the only city in En ...

and

Ryde Ryde is an English seaside town and civil parish on the north-east coast of the Isle of Wight. The built-up area had a population of 24,096 according to the 2021 Census. Its growth as a seaside resort came after the villages of Upper Ryde and ...

, Renamed as '' FastCat-Ryde''. Sold to Alien Shipping, renamed as ''Sochi-1'') *''SuperCat 18'' (sold to

for use between

and

, Renamed as '' FastCat-Shanklin''. Sold to Alien Shipping, renamed as ''Sochi-2'') *''SuperCat 20'' (sold to South African Shipping Company FakoShip, renamed as ''Endurance'') *''SuperCat 21'' (returned to her lessor )Endurance'') *'' St. Nuriel '' (Capsized during the onslaught of Typhoon Rolly in

.) *''SuperCat 2001/Tricat 50'' (sold, renamed as ''SEA POWER 1'') *''SuperCat 2002'' (sold to a Dutch Shipping Company, renamed as ''Tiger'') *''St. Benedict'' (Sold to undisclosed buyer on August 19, 2021 for PHP 2.5 million.)pp40 , Information Statement - Chelsea Logistics and Infrastructure Holdings Corp.
''PSE Electronic Disclosure Generation Technology (EDGE)'' 14 March 2023

Incidents

In September 1994, M/V ''SuperCat 1'' sank near Verde Island. There were no casualties. All passengers were rescued by another

RORO Roll-on/roll-off (RORO or ro-ro) ships are cargo ships designed to carry wheeled cargo, such as cars, motorcycles, trucks, semi-trailer trucks, buses, trailers, and railroad cars, that are driven on and off the ship on their own wheels or usi ...

vessel. On October 26, 2020, ''St. Nuriel'' capsized in

port during Typhoon Rolly., , In May 21, 2023, MV ''St. Jhudiel'', collided with LCT Poseidon 23 in

Mactan Channel The Mactan Channel, also known as Opon Channel, is a channel in Cebu, Philippines. It runs between mainland Cebu island and the smaller island of Mactan. The body of water is located within Metro Cebu, separating the localities of Mandaue and Ceb ...

. There were no casualties.

References

External links

Aboitiz Transport sale: hard decision after marking 100 yrs
(archived fro

on 2009-06-26) *http://www.supercat.com.ph/index.asp {{Transportation in the Philippines Ferries of the Philippines Ferry companies of the Philippines Shipping companies of the Philippines Transportation in Cebu Companies based in Cebu City Defunct transportation companies of the Philippines Privately held companies of the Philippines