‘Economic chaos on Rota’

An agent for a shipping company said the sudden rate increase the Rota Terminal and Transfer Company imposed for stevedoring services and equipment use at the Rota port will create “economic chaos” on Rota, with the action having an immense multiplier effect.

As of press time yesterday, Saipan Tribune was still trying to obtain comments from RTTC.

Pedro Q. Dela Cruz, an agent for Seabridge Isla Shipping Company, wrote Commonwealth Ports Authority board chair Jose C. Ayuyu on Thursday and urged him to immediately intervene and advise RTTC to hold off on the rate increase until CPA reviews the contract terms and condition relative to the overall RTTC operation, particularly the compliance of the published tariff.

Under the new proposed tariff: Crane use will increase from $290 to $500 per hour. The use of the 5-ton forklift will go up from $190 to $325 per hour. The use of the 2.5-ton forklift will also increase from $155 to $275 per hour.

In response to Saipan Tribune’s inquiry, Sen. Paul A. Manglona (Ind-Rota) said yesterday that Rota has not had a ship/barge service since Typhoon Mawar in May 2023 due to the repositioning of vessels in Guam. He said regular shipping services are just now resuming but this drastic increase in stevedoring services on inbound vessels hampers economic development on Rota, not to mention the exorbitant cost of goods residents already endure.

Dela Cruz said that, as he indicated to Ayuyu and CPA executive director Leo Tudela during their brief visit to Rota, RTTC’s rate increase is not in compliance with its published tariff in July 2010.

Dela Cruz said there is no record of an amended tariff to reflect the rate increases for services over the years.

The agent said the rate increases were not announced pursuant to the tariff requirement and that it also appears that such increases were not reviewed and approved by the RTTC board of directors. He said RTTC has had no elected board of directors for many years until now.

Due to this rate increase by RTTC, Dela Cruz said Seabridge is now assessing and notifying clients of the rate change because it will also impact their freight charges to reflect the overall increase by RTTC.

In fact, he said, Seabridge was planning to resume shipping service on April 2, 2024 from Saipan to Rota, but because of this issue, they are holding back on an exact schedule as to when they can resume regular scheduled shipping services.

Dela Cruz said that during the course of his discussion with Ayuyu and Tudela, he asked Tudela if it is possible for CPA to issue an immediate notice to RTTC to refrain from effectuating the rate increase until a review of the rate is complete.

He said the rate increase is very high, averaging between 71% to 77%.

Dela Cruz believes that if this problem continues, Seabridge will have no choice but to discontinue shipping service to Rota entirely. He said this will be bad for the residents of Rota as well as the entire CNMI economy.