Southwest Monsoon forces cancellation of sea trips across several Philippine ports

The Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) has released a comprehensive update regarding maritime travel disruptions caused by the prevailing Southwest Monsoon. As of 6:00 PM on August 18, 2026, multiple shipping lines and port management offices have suspended operations to ensure passenger safety amid deteriorating sea conditions.

Under the “Kanseladong Byahe” advisory, the PPA clarified that while it manages port facilities, trip cancellations are automatically triggered by Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) no-sail policies or voluntary suspensions by shipping lines in compliance with MARINA regulations.

Major disruptions in PMO Batangas

The Port of Batangas remains one of the hardest hit, with a significant number of fastcraft and Roro vessels grounded. Affected routes include:

• Puerto Galera: All fastcraft trips via Galerian (0630H, 0945H, 1245H), Island Water (0730H to 1345H), and Montenegro (1045H, 1415H) are cancelled. Supercat has declared no trips for the day.
• Romblon and Panay: Starlite Roro trips to Sibuyan, Romblon, Roxas City, and Culasi scheduled for 1500H have been suspended.
• Mindoro: Montenegro Roro trips to Abra de Ilog (0730H) and Calapan (0800H) are currently on standby for the next available voyage.

Regional updates: Bicol, Palawan, and Mindoro

In PMO Bicol, Starhorse Shipping Lines has suspended its route from Camarines to San Andres, Quezon via San Pascual, Masbate. Similar measures are in place for PMO Masbate, affecting fastcraft bound for Pilar, Sorsogon and trips to Hagnaya, Cebu.

Travelers in Palawan and Mindoro face the following cancellations:

• Coron & Culion: MV Bunso Ferry 2, MV City of Iloilo, and all expedition/escapade tours are halted. All vessels with 15GT and below are prohibited from sailing.
• Port of Lubang: All trips are officially cancelled.
• San Jose: The MV Bunso Ferry 2 route to Coron is suspended.

Bohol and Visayas routes

PMO Bohol has also reported several cancellations affecting inter-island travel:

• Getafe: Trips to Cordova and Lapu-Lapu City in Cebu are suspended.
• Jagna: Super Shuttle Ferry 28 bound for Camiguin (1430H) is cancelled.
• Ubay: The Mama Mary 005 voyage to Bato, Leyte (1300H) did not proceed.

Passengers are advised to coordinate directly with their respective shipping lines for rebooking or refund concerns. The PPA continues to monitor the situation across all ports under the Bagong Pilipinas initiative. For further updates, travelers may visit the official PPA website at www.ppa.com.ph.