The story
History
Source:
1932 - Negros Navigation incorporated on July 26. Small ferry vessels, "Marapara" and "San Carlos" purchased from Cesar Barrios and company together with their wharf in Silay.
1933 - Delivery of "Princess of Negros
1938 - "Princess of Negros" chartered by U.S. Army, etc. Operations suspended. Meanwhile, Banago wharf in Bacolod City heavily damaged.
1947 - PT boat acquired and named "Princess of Negros". Placed on Iloilo City-Silay route.
1950 - Banago wharf fully restored. Sister company Ledesma Shipping places "Don Julio on Iloilo-Bacolod-Manila route.
1954 - "Don Julio" purchased and placed on Iloilo-Bacolod route. "Florentina" placed on experimental Manila-Cavite ferry route.
1955 - "Florentina recalled to Iloilo-Bacolod route. "Don Julio" placed on Iloilo-Bacolod-Manila route.
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1957 - Bacolod office opens.
1960 - Iloilo main office transfers to company-owned building at Muelle Loney, Iloilo,
1961 - New "Princess of Negros" ordered from Hong Kong
1963 - Big fire at Banago wharf. Delivery of "Dona Florentina" brand-new, high speed luxurious and efficient passenger-cargo vessel. Manila office opens at Intramuros. Banago wharf repaired and expanded.
1967 - New "Don Julio" delivered.
1969 - Brand new "Don Vicente delivered
1970 - Rice rations and emergency living allowance started for employees.
1971 - Brand new "Don Juan" delivered. Old "Princess of Panay" sold. Negros Navigation main headquarters moves to Manila. North Harbor operations transferred from Pier 4 to Pier 2.
1972 - Pier 2 Complex (First Modern Passenger Terminal) completed. Head office in Manila transferred to Makati.
1973 - "Connie", a second-hand all-cargo vessel, acquired.
1974 - "Dona Montserrat" (second-hand luxury cruise vesel) acquired.
1976 - "Don Claudio" acquired.
1980 - "Don Juan" is hit by a tanker M/T Tacloban City and sank on April 22. "Santa Maria" acquired.
1981 - "Connie II" acquired.
1983 - "M/S Don Florentina" catches fire. "M/S Sta. Florentina" purchased to take over the Manila-lloilo-Cagayan route.
1987 - Negros Navigation expands business landscape.
1988 - Purchase of "M/S Sta. Ana", a RoRo vessel, aimed to meet the growing volume of passengers and cargo in Western Visayas.
1989 - MARINA approves "M/S Sta. Maria" to ply the Manila-Romblon-lloilo and Manila-Roxas City. Bacolod City routes on a weekly basis and "M/S Sta. Florentina to procced to Cagayan de Oro from Bacolod.
1992 - "M/S Princess of Negros" and "M/S San Paolo" launched.
1994 - Negros Navigation becomes the first shipping company to be listed in the Philippine Stock Exchange.
1995 - A computerized online Cargo Reservation, Booking and Monitoring System is implemented. First fast ferries introduced in the Bacolod and Iloilo routes.
1996 - Banago Wharf becomes fully concretined and an ultra-modern passenger terminal is inaugurated. First and only labor strike in Negros Navigation history is staged illegally.
1997 - Delivery of giant flagship "M/S Mary Queen of Peace".
1999 - Negros Navigation obtains Document of Compliance from ABS-Pacific.
2001 - Negros Navigation main headquarters omved to Manila.
2004 - Negros Navigation delisted upon request of owners. Sulficio Tagud Jr. takes over Negros Navigation helm. Rehabilitation begins.
2008 - "San Agustin Uno (SNA)" vessel was acquired.
2009 - "San Rafael Uno (SR1)" and "San Rafael Dos (SR2)" were launched.
2010 - Negros Navigation acquired Aboitiz Transport System and its brands on December 1. The China-Asean Investment Cooperation Fund, a private equity fund wholly owned by the Government of the People's Republic of China through an equity infusion, gained a controlling interest in Negros Navigation
2011 - Delivery of new flagship "M/S St. Michael the Archangel".
2012 - Aboitiz Transport System rebranded to 2GO Group Inc. Negros Navigation's passenger operations were merged with the former ATS brands; SuperFerry, SuperCat, and Cebu Ferries to form 2GO Travel, transferred all operational activities to it while Negros Navigation becomes the holding company of 2GO Group.
2018 - Negros Navigation merged with 2GO Group.
History
Before the Sea Angels fleet was established, Negros Navigation already operated a high-speed catamaran, the MV St. Michael, which the company acquired in early 1996 to compete with the Bacolod Express services of Cardinal Philippine Carrier and Bullet Express in the Bacolod-Iloilo City route.
The company flourished in 1996, the same year Negros Navigation made its initial public offering on the Philippine Stock Exchange, and with the fresh capital and reports that Cebu-based SuperCat Fast Ferry Corporation (a joint venture of Universal Aboitiz Inc. and Hong Kong based CTS Park View Co. Ltd.) planned to enter the Bacolod–Iloilo route so the company invested in brand-new, faster high-speed catamarans to maintain its competitive edge, launching them under the NN Sea Angels brand.
Negros Navigation then ordered four Flying Cat 40-series high-speed catamarans from Norwegian shipbuilder Kværner Fjell’s Singapore yard, the same model purchased by Cebu-based Water Jet Shipping Corporation. The first vessels, FC St. Raphael and FC St. Gabriel were delivered in June 1996, followed shortly after by Angel of Hope and Angel of Freedom for the Sea Angels fleet.
However, problems soon emerged due to the vessels’ waterjet propulsion systems, which were expensive and difficult to maintain, and with competition on the Bacolod–Iloilo route intensifying, Negros Navigation entered into a partnership with Sembawang Maritime and Water Jet Shipping Corporation in March 1997 to form WaterJet Angels, consolidating the operations of Sea Angels and WaterJet so both companies could strengthen their position against other high-speed operators, particularly SuperCat.
On September 4, 1998, Sea Angels merged with Universal Aboitiz Inc. and Hong Kong Park View Holdings to form the Philippine Fast Ferry Corporation. 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 Sea Angels fleet were consolidated to SuperCat.
From Wikipedia’s article on Negros Navigation, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.4