Seaports
There are 14 ports in the province—four (4) government and 10 private. The government ports handle both passenger and cargo traffics. The private seaports are generally utilized for the shipment of cargoes. The four (4) government ports are the Dumaguete Port, the Tandayag Port, the Guihulngan Port, and the Bais Port. The Philippine Ports Authority’s Port Management Office (PMO-Dumaguete) exercises jurisdiction over all these ports.
Dumaguete Port
The Port of Dumaguete is the main gateway to Negros Oriental. It is also a major link to Mindanao traffic and is part of the “Strong Republic Nautical Highway” route. It is the province’s biggest port, with a total land area of 22,536 square meters and a total berthing length of 647 meters. The DPWH also reclaimed an area of about 5,534 square meters.
Port facilities include the following: three (3) reinforced concrete finger piers (30 x 166 meters for Pier 1, 16 x 80 meters for Pier 2, and 12 x 162 meters for Pier 3); two (2) Roll-on Roll-off (RORO) ramps (9 x 11 meters and 12 x 12 meters); container yard (1,945 square meters); passenger shed (265 square meters and seating capacity of 60 persons); and open storage area (6,000 square meters).
The Dumaguete Port is also the busiest port in the province. In 1999, the port registered the most number of shipcalls—7,185—made by domestic and inter-island vessels, resulting in the transfer of about 324,241 metric tons of cargo. For that year, a total of 1,230,000 passengers embarked/disembarked at the port.
About nine (9) major shipping lines operate in the Port of Dumaguete. These are the Lorenzo Shipping, WGA Shipping, Sulpicio Lines, Negros Navigation Company, Aboitiz Shipping, George and Peter Lines, Cokaliong Shipping, Trans-Asia Shipping, Palacio Shipping and DIMC Shipping. They have a combined total of 20 ferries, fourteen (14) passenger/cargo vessels, three (3) container ships, and three (3) vessels that are purely for passengers only.
Tandayag Port
This minor port is located in Amlan, about 18 kilometers north of Dumaguete City. It has a total land area of 2,150 square meters with an open storage area of 800 square meters. Its berthing facilities consist primarily of one (1) 12-meter by 24-meter reinforced concrete wharf and one (1) 15-meter by 20-meter reinforced concrete beach ramp, making the port accessible only to small vessels going to and coming from Cebu island. This port serves as an alternate for docking of small vessels. Two shipping lines operate in this port namely: Millennum Shipping and ABC Lines. A total of 5,317 shipcalls were made at this port in 1999, resulting in 132,413 metric tons of cargo. Also in 1999, some 332,929 passengers passed through the port.
Guihulngan Port
Located some 116 kilometers north of Dumaguete City, this port provides another way of getting to and from the island of Cebu. It caters mainly to small vessels plying the route between Guihulngan and Tangil, Dumanjug, Cebu. Port facilities include an L-type reinforced concrete finger pier 6-meter wide by 55-meter long, and a berthing area of 99 meters with six (6) cleats mooring fixtures. Two shipping lines also operate in this port namely: Rodriguez Shipping and Pages Shipping. In 1999, the port got 1,620 shipcalls with 830 metric tons of cargo as well as 176,003 inbound/outbound passengers.
Bais Port
Situated about 45 kilometers north of Dumaguete City, this port is located within the haven of Bais Bay. With only a rock causeway facility measuring 10 meters wide and 85 meters long, this port can only accommodate small vessels. In fact, the port is mainly utilized as a jump-off point for dolphin and whale watching tours.
Private seaports
There are 10 private seaports in Negros Oriental. Six (6) of these ports are located in the southern side, four (4) in the northern side of the province. Four (4) of these are international private seaports owned by corporations that operate industrial plants in the province, namely: the Central Azucarera de Bais (CAB) in Tanjay; the Universal Robina Sugar Milling Company (URSUMCO) in Manjuyod; the DYNO Philippines, Inc. in Bacong; and the Herminio Teves and Co., Inc. (HTCI), in Tolong, Sta. Catalina.
Nine of these 10 private seaports in the province are classified as exclusive, as follows: CAB port in Luka, Tanjay City; Caltex Philippines, Inc. port in Tandayag, Amlan; URSUMCO port in Campuyo, Manjuyod, DYNO Philippines, Inc. port in San Miguel, Bacong; Looc Lead Ores, Inc. port in Looc, Ayungon; Dumaguete Coconut Milling Co., Inc. port in San Miguel, Bacong; Pryce Gases, Inc. port in Barangay Awaan, Ayungon; Maayo Shipping, Inc. port in Tampi, San Jose; and HTCI port in Tolong, Sta. Catalina. The port of July Lighterage Corp. in Looc, Sibulan functions as a commercial port.