DPW: Saipan-Tinian ‘ro-ro’ ferry service to be studied

The Department of Public Works will soon be taking on three new projects for the community that will include a ferry feasibility study between Saipan and Tinian.

Highway administrator Sonya Pangelinan Dancoe disclosed in an interview that the Route 1 feasibility study will look into the prospect of passenger and vehicle ferry services between the two islands.

The other two projects, she said, are the road improvement on Route 103 on Rota and the low-volume improvement project on Route 302 or the Naftan Road behind Airport Road on Saipan.

Dancoe noted that there had once been a ferry operation between Saipan and Tinian provided by Tinian Shipping and Transportation, Inc.

However, it suspended its services in March 2010, citing the need to undergo repairs to comply with the regulations of the American Bureau of Shipping.

Although Tinian Shipping and Transportation announced initially that it will only suspend the ferry service for up to six months, the company never brought it back, making it difficult for both locals and tourists to visit Tinian.

The feasibility study, Dancoe said, is also part of the transit requirement of the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Highway Administration, which provides most of the funding of DPW.

“We are eligible to apply for land and sea infrastructure under FHA so we want to take advantage of this opportunity,” Dancoe told Saipan Tribune.

Dancoe underscored the need for a feasibility study to prove the economic benefits of the passenger and vehicle ferry services between the two islands and to determine any environmental impacts.

“We want to explore new ways to boost traveling between Saipan and Tinian. With the passenger and vehicle ferry, people can easily mobilize from Saipan to Tinian and vice versa, cost of traveling will go down, and commodities can be transported on a cheaper rate,” she said.

DPW secretary Martin C. Sablan, for his part, also emphasized that the ferry service will improve commerce and tourism in both islands.

Dancoe also pointed out that the feasibility study will also take into consideration operational and maintenance aspects of the proposed passenger and vehicle ferry services, adding that they plan to work with the Commonwealth Ports Authority on the said study.

“We want to do whatever we can to help our islands,” added Dancoe.

Tinian Mayor Ramon M. Dela Cruz, when asked for comment, said in a phone interview yesterday that he is “a hundred percent in support of a roll-on-roll-off type of ferry between Saipan and Tinian, describing the service as “a great help” particularly for Tinian’s commerce.

“You can imagine what kind of economic activities that are going to be generated between the islands once the ferry service commences,” said Dela Cruz.

The mayor noted that the biggest problem on Tinian at present is bringing in merchandise from Saipan since Freedom Air and Star Marianas are handling their passenger transportation needs.

“Tinian Stevedore closed its doors in the latter part of October last year and we’re left without a stevedoring company on island, he said.

Dela Cruz disclosed that they often ask for assistance from Saipan Stevedore when merchants have to bring their merchandise from Saipan to Tinian.

“Because of this, we’ve been encountering obstacles and it’s creating a whole bunch of problems that add to the cost of bringing in commodities to Tinian,” he said.

Dela Cruz expressed optimism that the feasibility study will reveal the serious need for the ferry service so that the government, through responsible agencies, will make the project a reality.