Page 50: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (November 2023)

PHILIPPINE'S FASTCAT FERRIES

Photo courtesy Archipelago Philippine Ferries Company/FastCat

FASTCAT IS ON A MISSION TO

CONNECT THE PHILIPPINES

What are the ? rst thoughts to cross your mind when you hear “Philippine ferries”? Old vessels … Unsafe ships … Accidents? If so, that perception is mostly accurate. But the reality is changing today, courtesy of the Pastrana family and

Archipelago Philippine Ferries Company – aka FastCat – which continues to build, crew and operate a ? eet of modern, internationally classed RoPax ferries to service the Philippines vast expanse of islands. FastCat operates 20 modern ships today, and is aiming to ramp that up to 60 by 2030.

By Greg Trauthwein rchipelago Philippine Ferries Company is best build its country’s national economy. And the Pastrana family known by the brand FastCat, connecting select are ‘all in’ – from Mary Ann and her husband Christopher;

Philippine Islands via modern catamaran RoPax to their two sons who are learning the maritime trade in the

A ferries. Today it operates 20 vessels on nine U.S. at SUNY Maritime; to their two son-in-law’s that have routes in the Philippines, and according to Mary Ann Pastrana, embraced key positions in the company.

Chairperson, the goal is 60 FastCats by 2030. “Pre-pandemic,

Humble Beginnings we carried about 4 million passengers per year, and while the number dropped during the pandemic, it's going back up.” The company started 20 years ago when Christopher Pas-

In total, the Philippines are made up of 7,641 islands. “We're trana bought a ? eet of tugs and barges to carry bagged cargo, divided by water,” said Pastrana, “and we connect the major expanding soon thereafter with seven secondhand RoRo ship. routes via the so-called ‘Nautical Highway’ on the Central, “Our start was connecting the islands with secondhand old-

Western, and Eastern sides.” er ships,” said Mary Ann, noting that it was dif? cult and costly

Today FastCat has about 600 employees, 300 on shore, 300 “running different size ships with different engines. The main- on the ships. But the story of FastCat transcends the pure busi- tenance was a challenge, ? nding parts for older ships and the ness aspect of maritime, as it is through and through a fam- lack of a steel industry in the Philippines. Everything was im- ily business, a family that sees the work it has done to build ported, so we slowly started selling the tugs and barges, some a modern ? eet of RoPax ships as a central tenant to helping for scrap, then the RoRo ? eet, too.” 50 Maritime Reporter & Engineering News • November 2023

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