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), and was one of the largest ferry operators in the Philippines. It is now part of 2GO Travel.
Through Aboitiz-Jebsen, SuperFerry had the honor of being the first shipping company in the Philippines to receive the International Ship Management Code, SuperFerry's entire fleet was also compliant with the International Ship and Port Facility Security Code.
History April 20, 1990 - Aboitiz Shipping Corporation introduced the Aboitiz SuperFerry brand by launching the M/V Aboitiz SuperFerry 1. January 1, 1996 - Aboitiz Shipping Corporation merged with William Lines Inc. and Carlos A. Gothong Lines to form WG&A Philippines Inc. the Aboitiz SuperFerry brand was retained under its new name WG&A SuperFerry. 2002-2004 - Aboitiz buys the shares of William Lines Inc. and Carlos A. Gothong Lines making it a subsidiary of Aboitiz Equity Ventures. later in February 2004, WG&A Philippines Inc. was renamed to the Aboitiz Transport System Corporation (ATSC) and the brand was again retained. March 8, 2005 - WG&A SuperFerry was rebranded to SuperFerry Travel & Leisure and adopted the blue and orange color scheme. December 1, 2010 - ATSC's parent company, Aboitiz Equity Ventures and Aboitiz and Company Inc. sold the company and its brands to Negros Navigation Co. Inc. (NENACO), for US$105 million. It included SuperFerry and its sister brands. January 1, 2012 - ATSC was rebranded to 2GO Group Inc. meanwhile, SuperFerry and its sister brands, SuperCat and Cebu Ferries merged with the Negros Navigation brand and formed 2GO Travel.
Destinations The following ports of call were served by SuperFerry throughout its history. Its main port of call was Manila. Other destinations are:
Luzon Batangas Coron Masbate Puerto Princesa Manila
Visayas Bacolod Batan, Aklan Boracay Catbalogan Cebu Dumaguete Dumaguit Iloilo City Isabel, Leyte Ormoc City Palompon Roxas City Tacloban
Mindanao Nasipit, Agusan del Norte Cagayan de Oro Cotabato Davao Dipolog City General Santos Iligan, Lanao del Norte Ozamiz Surigao City Zamboanga City
Historical fleet
SuperFerry has operated 27 vessels during its lifetime:
SuperFerries SuperFerry 1 (1989–2012) - She was originally built as the Venus, in by Shikoku Dockyard in Takamatsu, Japan. She was completed in December 1975 and she was then delivered to Arimura Sangyo shipping line of Naha, Okinawa, Japan. In 1989, Aboitiz Shipping Corporation bought the Venus and brought her to the Philippines where she was rebuilt. New decks were added and it now totaled four and additional passenger accommodations were built. She served as a SuperFerry for years until she was transferred and renamed M/V St. Rita de Casia by 2GO Travel and eventually sold to the Indonesian shipping company, Atosim Lampung Pelayaran PT and was renamed KM Mutiara Persada 1. In 2021, she was sold to local shipbreakers in Indonesia. SuperFerry 2 (1993–2012) - She was originally built as the Ferry Sumiyoshi () of Meimon Car Ferry (later as Meimon Taiyo Ferry) (Japanese: 名門大洋フェリー, romanized: Meimon Taiyō Ferī) in Japan. She was the sister ship of Ferry Hakozaki which was later sold later in 1994 to Aboitiz Shipping Corporation and was renamed as M/V SuperFerry 5 and later as the M/V St. Joan of Arc of 2GO Travel. In April 1992 she came to the Philippines to become the M/V Aboitiz SuperFerry 2 of Aboitiz Shipping Corporation and served under the brand until in 2012 when she was transferred and renamed M/V St. Thomas Aquinas by 2GO Travel. collided with M/V Sulpicio Express Siete of Philippine Span Asia Carrier Corporation (Formerly Sulpicio Lines), on August 16, 2013, and sank near Talisay in Cebu Province. SuperFerry 3 (1993–2000) - She was originally built as the Hamayu for the Japanese ferry company, Miyazaki Car Ferry. She was acquired by Aboitiz Shipping Corporation in 1993 and became the SuperFerry 3. In 2000, she had fire incident while the vessel was undergoing ship repairs in Keppel Cebu Shipyard, hot works on certain parts of the ship started a fire and caused evasive damages, effectively gutting the whole vessel. WG&A later held the shipyard owners liable for the incident. The ship was later broken up. SuperFerry 5 (1994–2012) - She was originally commissioned in 1973 as the Ferry Hakozaki of Japanese shipping line Meimon Car Ferry, and was built by Onomichi Shipbuilding in Hiroshima, Japan. In 1992, the ship was sold back to Onomichi Shipbuilding and was renamed as the Ferry Cosmo, and was chartered to Kansai Kisen Kaisha until 1994. She was acquired by the Aboitiz Shipping Corporation in 1994, its final acquisition before it formed the WG&A consortium with Carlos A. Gothong Lines and William Lines. The ship was then renamed to SuperFerry 5. Transferred to 2GO Travel and renamed M/V St. Joan of Arc; was retired from service and sold to breakers in Alang, India. SuperFerry 6 (1996–2000) - She was originally built as Ferry Tone and later, Ferry Shirayuri of Higashi-Kyu Ferry (East Ferry) in Japan. In 1993, she was acquired by Carlos A Gothong Lines as the Our Lady of Akita In 1996, she was transferred to WG&A SuperFerry and renamed SuperFerry 6 after the WG&A merger. In 2000, an engine fire on its starboard side swept the ship while en route to Manila from General Santos, October 2000; all of the 862 passengers and 168 crew were saved and the fire brought under control, but the ship was a total loss.A Sorry Maritime Safety Record Indeed In The Philippines, UP Ibalon, Bicol, September 11, 2008 SuperFerry 7 (1996–1997) - Former Naminoue Maru of A" Line in Japan, and built in 1980, she was sold to William Lines in 1992 and renamed the Mabuhay 2 and had her maiden voyage on October 23, 1992; later becoming a part of the SuperFerry fleet as part of the William, Gothong, and Aboitiz Shipping lines merger and was renamed SuperFerry 7. She was eventually lost to an extensive fire incident in 1997, wherein the whole vessel was gutted due to a presumed electrical fire while docked at Pier 4; same incident that would happen to her fleetmate SuperFerry 3 later in 2000, but this time, was caused by hot works around the ship. She only spent 3 years sailing under the Philippine flag after the acquisition from Japan. SuperFerry 8/19 (1996–2011) - Built in 1977 as M/V Akebono Maru of A” Line shipping by Usuki Iron Works Ltd. in their Saiki, Japan shipyard. Sold in 1989 to William Lines and was renamed into M/V Sugbu. She was refurbished in Singapore and was renamed into Mabuhay 3 and eventually SuperFerry 8. Renamed into SuperFerry 19 after she was re-engined in Singapore in 2004. She was leased in 2006 by Peninsula, a shipping company in Papua New Guinea; temporarily renamed into Milne Bay. She later came back to SuperFerry. Was eventually sold to Jiangmen Xinhui Shipbreaking Co. Ltd; a shipbreaking company in China in 2011.ATSC Annual report, 2004, Philippines Securities and Exchange Commission SuperFerry 9 (1996–2009) - Built in 1986 by Usuki Iron Works Ltd. at Saiki, Japan, and launched as the Ariake, it was later acquired by William Lines Incorporated in 1995 and renamed as Mabuhay 5. but before her maiden voyage in the Philippines, the ship was renamed SuperFerry 9. And she never entered service under William Lines and has been part of the SuperFerry fleet ever since. It was known to be a problematic ship, with engine problems causing delays and stranding of passengers. In 2009, due to a presumed rough sea conditions and shifting of cargo containers below decks, it capsized off the southwest coast of Zamboanga Peninsula while en route from General Santos to Iloilo and sank almost 5 hours after the first distress call sent by the captain. All 968 passengers and crew were accounted for. There were 10 fatalities.Three sinking boats in a row: Super Ferry 9, MV Hera & MB Minham , UP Ibalon Bicol, August 9, 2009 SuperFerry 10 (1996–2002) - Built in 1973 as the Sun Flower 5 (), one of the legendary Sun Flower ships of Japan's Blue Highway Line. She was later acquired and became the flagship of William Lines as the Mabuhay 1, part of their luxury liners to compete with former rival Sulpicio Lines. After the merger, and was renamed SuperFerry 10, and she became WG&A's flagship for a short time, until the arrival of SuperFerry 12. She was eventually sold to breakers in China in 2002, still in perfectly good working condition, as a casualty of WG&A's liquidation of ships after the merger break-up. She only managed to sail for 9 years in Philippine waters after the William Lines acquisition.Ship Report for "7302108", miramarshipindex.org.nz SuperFerry 11 (1996–1999) - She was formerly the Kobe Maru of Oshima Transportation in Japan. She was sold to Gothong Lines in 1995 and was renamed to Our Lady of Akita 2. but before her maiden voyage in the Philippines, the ship was renamed to SuperFerry 11 and she never entered service under Gothong and became a SuperFerry instead. In 1999, she was renamed to Our Lady of Banneux and transferred to SuperFerry's sister company, Cebu Ferries. At the same year, she was involved in a grounding incident near Matalom, Southern Leyte on 29 December. According to some accounts, this was only her second voyage on the said route. She was later sold and broken up in 2003 SuperFerry 12 (1996–2012) - SuperFerry 12 was the former New Miyako of Hankyu Ferry of Japan and was sold to WG&A in 1996 and renamed to SuperFerry 12, and subsequently replaced SuperFerry 10 as the flagship in the same year as she arrived. She was involved in a collision with the passenger-cargo boat M/V San Nicholas in 2003. She was later repaired and was later transferred to 2GO Travel in 2012. She was eventually sold to breakers in Chittagong, Bangladesh in 2021. SuperFerry 14 (2000–2004) - Built in 1981, as the White Sanpo 2, and was later acquired by WG&A in October 2000 and was advertised as a "Festival" ship for her many on-board amenities. On February 27, 2004, at around 12:50 midnight, while the ferry was sailing from Manila bound for Cagayan de Oro, an explosion tore through the vessel, starting a fire that engulfed the ship and caused many fatalities. The ferry later capsized half-submerged, further hampering rescue and retrieval operation of survivors and missing persons. Upon investigation, a Rajah Sulaiman Movement member confessed to planting a bomb which was triggered by a timing device on board for the Abu Sayyaf group, confirming a terrorist attack. The disaster was featured in various international news and media due to its magnitude and terrorism nature. All in all, of the 899 recorded passengers and crew on board, there were 116 fatalities, 53 remained missing and presumed dead. The ship was deemed a total loss by the companyThe Return of Abu Sayyaf, Time Magazine, August 23, 2004SuperFerry sinking a terrorist attack , Philstar.com, February 27, 2018 and was later broken up. SuperFerry 15 (2002–2007) - She started her career as and later as Ferry Kyoto for the Japanese operator Meimon Taiyō Ferry. In 2002, she was acquired by WG&A Philippines where she was named as MV SuperFerry 15 to better compete with its archrival, Sulpicio Lines. After a brief service in the Philippines, she was sold in 2007 to LYG C-K Ferry and became CK Star in China, and was later sold to breakers in Alang, India.