Ocean Fast Ferries

OceanJet Fast Ferries, Inc.

Formerly	Socor Shipping Lines
Company type	Private
Industry	Ferry Services
Founded	1995 (1995)
Headquarters	Pier 1, Warehouse Building, North Reclamation Area, Cebu City , Philippines
Area served	Philippines
Website	oceanjet.net

OceanJet Fast Ferries, Inc. is a wholly owned Filipino corporation that operates high-speed crafts commonly known as OceanJet, serving destinations in the Visayas, Luzon region in the Philippines.

History

The company started in the late 1990s as Socor Shipping Line, operating one vessel, the M/V Oceanjet 1. The company was not aggressive to expansion until 2001, when the company acquired their second vessel, M/V Oceanjet 2. In the same year, the company changed their name into Ocean Fast Ferries Corporation. They acquired 3 new ships from 2001 to 2003: the sister ships Oceanjet 3, Oceanjet 5 and Oceanjet 6, all built in Hong Kong.

OceanJet 288

Starting 2011, the company continued their expansion, with the arrival of Ocean Jet 8 into service. She was the first among the ships acquired by the company to be designed by Global Marine Design, based in Australia, who manufactured the marine kits of these ships, which were later assembled here in the Philippines by Golden Dragon Shipyard, located in Mandaue, Cebu.

As of September 2024, the company is serving 13 destinations, and has a fleet of 17 vessels.

Destinations

The company serves 13 different destinations, namely:

• Bacolod City, Negros Occidental
• Batangas City
• Calapan City, Oriental Mindoro
• Cebu City
• Dumaguete City
• Getafe, Bohol
• Iloilo City
• Ormoc City
• Palompon, Leyte
• Siquijor, Siquijor
• Tagbilaran City, Bohol
• Maasin City, Southern Leyte
• Surigao City, Surigao del Norte
• Loon, Bohol

Routes

Oceanjet presently operates in the following routes:

• Cebu-Ormoc & Vice Versa
• Cebu-Palompon & Vice Versa
• Cebu-Tagblaran & Vice Versa
• Cebu-Tagbilaran-Siquijor-Dumaguete & Vice Versa
• Cebu-Loon & Vice Versa
• Cebu-Getafe & Vice Versa
• Cebu-Maasin-Surigao & Vice Versa
• Dumaguete-Siquijor & Vice Versa
• Bacolod-Iloilo & Vice Versa
• Batangas-Calapan & Vice Versa

Fleet

The company operates a total of 17 vessels, a mix of monohulls and catamarans, making them the largest operator of high-speed crafts in the Visayas region.

Oceanjet 388 at the Port of Tagbilaran

Oceanjet 3

OceanJet vessels

Name	IMO	Total Seats	Built	Notes
Oceanjet 1		208	1985	A monohull bought from Japan.
Oceanjet 2	8823197	241	1989	A monohull bought from Japan.
Oceanjet 3	8979398	332	2001	These 3 sister ships were built by Cheoy Lee Shipyards in Hong Kong.
Oceanjet 5	8979403	332	2002
Oceanjet 6	8979415	332	2003
Oceanjet 7	7908990	338	1979	Acquired in 2010, a Westermoen Westamaran (catamaran), and the company's first catamaran.
Ocean Jet 8	8664058	352	2011	These vessels were designed by Global Marine Design in Australia, and were assembled in Mandaue City by Golden Dragon Shipyard. Ocean Jet 188 was the first to feature an Axe Bow design, followed by Ocean Jet 288. Later on, existing vessels were retrofitted with the bow design that enabled lower fuel consumption and a gain in sprint speed. New vessels would then sport the Axe Bow design. Both Ocean Jet 788 and 988 can seat up to 357 passengers, but 10 seats were removed to make way for a baggage area. With both vessels being the latest additions to their fleet, they installed foam on all their tourist class seats which are made from synthetic rattan.
Ocean Jet 88	9712929	357	2012
Ocean Jet 888		357	2014
Ocean Jet 168		357	2015
Ocean Jet 188		357	2016
Ocean Jet 288		357
Ocean Jet 388		357
Ocean Jet 588		357
Ocean Jet 688		357
Ocean Jet 788		347
Ocean Jet 988		347	2024
Oceanjet 9		290	1997	Formerly the M/V Paras Sea Cat, a catamaran.
Ocean Jet 10		288	1999	Formerly Lite Jet 8, a catamaran of the Lite Ferries/Lite Shipping Corporation.
Ocean Jet 11		172	1989	Formerly Lite Jet 1, a monohull ferry of the Lite Ferries/Lite Shipping Corporation.
Ocean Jet 12	9175341	332	1998	Formerly Lite Jet 9, a catamaran of the Lite Ferries/Lite Shipping Corporation. She was built by Afai Southern Shipyard in Guangzhou, China, and was previously the Aquan One (until 2001), and First Ferry I (until 2014).
Ocean Jet 15	9156711	203	1997	A monohull ferry acquired in 2016 from Japan.

Accidents and Incidents

• January 6, 2020: While en route to Tagbilaran City from Plaridel, OceanJet 7 enountered big waves brought by strong winds. This drove the vessel off course causing it to run aground approximately 1.5 kilometers off the Port of Plaridel, resting on the starboard side of its hull. The Philippine Coast Guard dispatched a rescue vessels to the scene and brought back 271 passengers and 17 crew to Plaridel Port. A tug was dispatched to help refloat the vessel and take it under tow back to port.

• December 16, 2021: Super Typhoon Odette, internationally known as Typhoon Rai, made landfall in Cebu at approximately 10:00 PM. Four of OceanJet's vessels, namely OceanJet 1, OceanJet 288, OceanJet 388, and OceanJet 588, were moored at Cebu Pier 1 during the typhoon. Images showed the vessels stacked on top of one another like toys, with two vessels' bows already resting on the pier itself. All sustained heavy damage and were partially submerged as a result of the huge waves brought by the typhoon. The vessels were salvaged one by one and were repaired at Golden Dragon Shipyard in Mandaue, Cebu, which is also owned by OceanJet Fast Ferries, Inc.

• March 20, 2022: In a Facebook post that went viral, it narrates the account of the crew of OceanJet 88 rescuing a fisherman in distress. While en route to Cebu City during stormy weather, the captain of OceanJet 88 noticed a fisherman in the water floating alongside his partially submerged banca. They slowed down, approached the fisherman, then cast a life vest towards him. They then secured a line and towed the banca towards the Camotes Islands. On a separate post by one of OceanJet 88's crew members, it shows a video of the vessel in the vicinity of Tulang Island with the fisherman and his partially submerged banca at the stern of the ship. The fisherman was given and made to keep the life vest, then transferred to another banca that was there to meet them. He jumped into the water and then climbed onto the other banca. A bigger banca approached to help while the crew slowly departed as they resumed their trip to Cebu. Comments say that the fisherman was out in the open when he got caught in a squall.

• September 9, 2022: OceanJet 168 struck a coral reef off the coast of Panglao en route to Siquijor from Tagbilaran. The vessel stopped for a brief moment, then returned to Tagbilaran. The vessel sustained damage to its starboard-side propeller. Following the incident, a provincial board member, who was onboard during the incident, expressed dismay over OceanJet’s alleged “lack of protocol and accountability” as passengers were never informed on what happened. The Marina suspended the Passenger Ship Safety Certificate of the vessel pending an inspection to be conducted by the agency to determine its seaworthiness. They also suspended the captain indefinitely due to the incident.

• November 21, 2022: The Philippine Coast Guard rescues a 58 year old fisherman after his fishing boat collided with OceanJet 688 in waters off Tagbilaran City. The vessel had just departed from Tagbilaran City when it rammed the banca of the fisherman. According to authorities, the fisherman was unable to see the incoming vessel due to the intense glare of the sun. The fisherman did not sustain injuries but his banca was damaged. It was noted that the passenger vessel was still travelling at low speed as it was still near the port. Following the impact, OceanJet 688 immediately stopped to check on the fisherman. It was also the crew of the vessel who alerted the PCG substation in Tagbilaran City. PCG also mentioned that the area was off-limits for fishing as it is a passageway for boats. The fisherman and OceanJet reached a settlement and the company offered to pay for the former's banca.

• January 20, 2023: While en route to Cebu City from Tagbilaran, the crew of OceanJet 8 rescues a fisherman in distress. The fisherman was found in the water alongside his banca which was mostly submerged. The crew tossed a lifebuoy to the fisherman. OceanJet commended the crew's action by sharing a Facebook post of a netizen who recorded the incident.

• January 31, 2024: OceanJet 6 collides with water taxi Hop & Go 1, killing its captain and third mate. The collision occurred when OceanJet 6 was sailing outbound from Batangas bound for Calapan while Hop & Go 1 was travelling inbound to Batangas from Puerto Galera. Images showed extensive damage to the water taxi with its front apparently ripped open. It remained afloat and was being towed to Puerto Galera. Images of the scene appeared to be gray, possibly indicating misty or foggy weather. The water taxi was carrying a total of five passengers: four Chinese passengers, with two suffering injuries as a result of the collision, and one Swedish passenger during the incident. None of OceanJet's 115 passengers and 19 crew members were injured.

• February 23, 2024: At 11:50 AM, port police at PMO Bohol reached out to the Philippine Coast Guard after receiving a report of a missing crew member onboard OceanJet 888 which was currently underway to Cebu City from Tagbilaran. Upon reviewing CCTV footage, it has been discovered that the missing crew member slipped and fell overboard and was killed by the propeller while the vessel was performing an undocking maneuver at 11:06 AM. It was mentioned that while the vessel was undocking, the crew member was at the back portion of the vessel arranging luggage prior to the incident. At around 12:20 PM., chopped-up remains were seen floating around the ship’s berth as a result of the crew member getting sucked and minced by the ship’s propeller.

External links

• Official website