The port has a capacity to handle 600,000 twenty-foot equivalent unit containers (TEUs) and in 2016 handles less than 200,000 TEU containers.[2]
Description
Subic Bay is part of Luzon Sea on the west coast of the island of Luzon in Zambales, Philippines, about 100 kilometers northwest of Manila Bay. Formerly the U.S. Naval Base Subic Bay, it is now the location the Subic Bay Freeport Zone (SBF) managed by the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA). The bay is surrounded by the town of Subic and Olongapo City, both in the province of Zambales and the town of Morong in the province of Bataan in the east. The mountain ranges around the bay area and the deep natural harbor provide a protected anchorage, naturally sheltered from typhoons. The harbor is up to 13.7 meters covering a total area of 41 hectares.
The port has a total of 12 piers and wharves and presently has three container terminals, a fertilizer terminal at the Boton Wharf, a grain bulk terminal at the Leyte Wharf, and a general containerized cargo terminal at the Sattler Pier.[3] A new container terminal with two berths is now[when?] being constructed through the Subic Bay Port Development Project (SBPDP). The two new berths has a total capacity of 300,000 TEUs each, large enough accommodate Panamax and post-Panamax container vessels.[4]
History
A 1902 nautical chart of Subic Bay
Spanish period
Subic Bay's strategic location, sheltered anchorages, and deep water were first made known to the Europeans when the Spanish explorer Juan de Salcedo reported its existence to the Spanish authorities upon his return to Manila, after Salcedo arrived in Zambales to establish the Spanish crown, but it would be a number of years before the Spanish would consider establishing a base there.[5]
Cavite, which had been home to most of the Spanish fleet in the Philippines, suffered from unhealthy living conditions and was vulnerable in time of war and bad weather because of its shallow water and lack of shelter. Because of these, a military expedition was sent to Subic Bay in 1868 with orders to survey the bay to find out if it would be a suitable site for a naval yard. The Spanish explored the entire bay and concluded that it had much promise and thus reported their findings to Cavite. This report was not well-accepted in Manila as the Spanish command was reluctant to move to the provincial isolation of Subic. Finally, in 1884, a Royal Decree declared Subic Bay as a naval port.
On March 8, 1885, the Spanish Navy authorized construction of the Arsenal en Olongapo and by the following September, Filipino laborers were working off their taxes by working at Olongapo. To begin, the Filipinos dredged the harbor and its inner basin and built a drainage canal as the Spanish were planning to make Olongapo and their navy yard an "island." This canal also serves as a line of defense over which the bridge at the base's Main Gate passes. When the Arsenal was finished, the Caviteño, the Santa Ana, and the San Quentin, all of which were gunboats, were assigned for its defense. To complement these gunboats, coastal artilleries were planned for the east and west ends of the station, as well as on Grande Island.[5]
Seawalls, causeways and a short railway were built across the swampy tidal flats. To finish these projects, the Filipinos had to remove thousands of tons of dirt and rock from Kalalake in Olongapo to use as fill. The magnitude of this quarrying was so huge that a hill eventually disappeared and became a lagoon in the area now known as Bicentennial Park.[citation needed]
Inside the Arsenal, the Spanish constructed a foundry, as well as other shops, which were necessary for the construction and repair of ships. The buildings were laid out in two rows on Rivera Point, a sandy patch of land jutting into the bay, and named after the incumbent Captain-General of the Philippines, Fernando Primo de Rivera. The Arsenal's showpiece was the station commandant's headquarters, which was a one-storey building of molave and narra, and stood near today's Alava Pier and had colored glass windows.
The Spanish navy yard was constructed in the area that was last occupied by the U.S. Naval Ship Repair Facility.
In the Philippines, Rear AdmiralPatricio Montojo, realizing that Subic Bay would provide a more defensible position than Cavite, ordered his smaller ships and the batteries in Manila Bay to resist Dewey's fleet and deny them the entrance to Manila Bay. His other units would then use Subic Bay as a sally port, with which he could attack the American fleet's rear and cut off its supplies. On the April 26, Montojo arrived at Subic Bay aboard the Reina Christina, with seven other ships.
On the morning of the April 27, the Castilla was towed northeast of Grande Island to help control the western entrance to Subic Bay. The eastern entrance, which was between Grande and Chiquita Islands, had been blocked by the scuttling of the San Quentin and two other vessels. On Grande Island, the four six-inch (15.2cm) guns that had been shipped from Sangley Point were not yet installed. Meanwhile, a cable-laying ship, which was commandeered to lay mines ended up putting only four of the 15 available mines in place.
In Hong Kong, Dewey purposely delayed his sailing until he received news from the U.S. Consul at Manila, Oscar F. Williams, about information about the strength and positions of the Spanish fleet. Williams told Dewey that Montojo and his fleet had sailed to Subic Bay.
On April 30, Dewey sighted the islands of Luzon and thus ordered the Boston and the Concord to sail at full speed to Subic Bay to hunt for enemy ships. After seeing no enemy vessels at Subic, the Boston and the Concord signaled the Olympia of their findings and rejoined the squadron underway to Manila.
Dawn of May 1, 1898, the American fleet entered Manila Bay and once the ships closed to within 5,000 yards (4,600m) of the Spanish fleet, Dewey ordered the Captain of the Olympia to fire when ready. Montojo's fleet was totally destroyed, losing 167 men and wounding 214. The Americans only suffered a handful of injuries and no casualties.[6]
American Colonial Period
The U.S. Naval Base Subic Bay was a major ship-repair, supply, and rest and recreation facility of the United States Navy located in Zambales, Philippines. It was the largest U.S. Navy installation in the Pacific and was the largest overseas military installation of the United States Armed Forces after Clark Air Base in Angeles City was closed in 1991.
1933: Vought O3U-1 "Corsair" observation planes aboard the Augusta during exercises in Subic Bay.
In 1917, as the United States was drawn into World War I, all the Navy's shipyards including Subic Bay began working at a feverish pace to prepare ships for sea. American and Filipino workers would take pride in their workmanship such that destroyers that were overhauled in Subic Bay became the vanguard of Admiral William Sims's convoy.
To prepare for eventual war, Dewey Drydock, which had been at Subic Bay for 35 years was towed to Mariveles Bay, on the tip of the Bataan Peninsula, and scuttled there on April 8, 1941, to prevent the Japanese from deriving benefit from it.[5]
The freshly arrived Marines were assigned to provide land defense for Subic Bay. Seaward defenses included the batteries at Fort Wint on Grande Island and a minefield, which had been laid off the entrance to Subic Harbor. As the Marines built beach defenses, Consolidated PBY-4 Catalinas from VP-101 & VP-102 of Patrol Wing 10,[8] which was stationed at Subic Bay, were conducting daily patrols off Luzon as a response to rumors that the Japanese were approaching the Philippines. On December 11, seven Catalinas had just returned from patrol when Japanese Zeroes appeared and strafed the aircraft. One ensign was killed and all Catalinas sank to the bottom of Subic Bay's inner basin.
By December 24, the situation at Subic had become hopeless and an order to destroy the station and withdraw was given. All buildings on the station were torched while Filipinos burned the entire town of Olongapo. All that remained on Subic was the former New York, and she was towed into a deep part of the bay and scuttled. All Marines withdrew to Bataan and eventually to Corregidor where they made their last stand.
Fort Wint, under the command of Colonel Napoleon Boudreau of the U.S. Army, was evacuated on December 25. All equipment and supplies were destroyed. On January 10, 1942, soldiers of the Japanese Imperial Army's 14th Infantry Division marched into Olongapo and on the 12th, the Japanese commandeered native fishing boats to seize Grande Island. Subic Bay Naval Station was established with four companies of soldiers and a company of Kempeitai.
By January 1945, the Japanese had all but abandoned Subic Bay. The U.S. Fifth Air Force had dropped 175 tons of bombs on Grande Island evoking only light fire from the skeleton Japanese force manning the anti-aircraft guns. The commander of Japanese forces in the Philippines, General Tomoyuki Yamashita, had withdrawn his forces into defensive mountain positions and ordered Colonel Sanenbou Nagayoshi to block Highway 7 near Subic Bay.[7]
The Vietnam War
The base became the service station and supermarket for the U.S. Seventh Fleet after the Gulf of Tonkin incident in 1964. From an average of 98 ship visits a month in 1964, the average shot up to 215 by 1967, with about 30 ships in port on any given day. A new record was set in October 1968 with 47 ships in port.
The Naval Supply Depot (NSD) handled the largest volume of fuel oil of any Navy facility in the world, with more than 4 million barrels (640,000m3) of fuel oil processed each month. An offshore fueling terminal began operation in September 1967, allowing commercial tankers to unload fuel oil and aviation gas without docking at the busy fuel pier. The depot also supplied Clark Air Base with aviation fuel through a 41-mile (66km) pipeline. In addition to its fuel operations, NSD also stocked over 200,000 various items for use by the fleet. In June 1968 a fire of unknown origin destroyed a warehouse with the loss of 18,000 line items worth more than $10million.[7]
NAS Cubi Point served as the primary maintenance, repair and supply center for the 400 carrier based aircraft of the Seventh Fleet's carrier force. The jet engine shop turned out two jet engines a day to keep pace with the demands of the air war in Vietnam.
US withdrawal
The American Flag is lowered and Philippine flag is raised during turnover of Naval Station Subic Bay.
In December 1991, the two governments were again in talks to extend the withdrawal of American forces for three years but this broke down as the United States refused to spell out in detail their withdrawal plans or say if nuclear weapons were kept on base; nuclear weapons were forbidden on Philippine soil. Finally, on December 27, President Corazon Aquino, who fought to delay the pullout to cushion the country's battered economy, issued a formal notice for the U.S. to leave what had been the U.S.'s largest overseas defense facility after Clark Air Base was closed, by the end of 1992.[5]
During 1992, tons of material including drydocks and equipment, were shipped to various Naval Stations. Ship-repair and maintenance yards as well as supply depots were relocated to other Asian countries including Japan and Singapore. Finally, on November 24, 1992, the American Flag was lowered in Subic for the last time and the last 1,416 Sailors and Marines at Subic Bay Naval Base left by plane from NAS Cubi Point and by the USS Belleau Wood. This withdrawal marked the first time since the 16th Century that no foreign military forces were present in the Philippines.[7]
In March 2022, the nearby Agila Subic Shipyard was acquired by the American private equity firm Cerberus Capital Management, after the previous owners, South Korean shipping company Hanjin went bankrupt, amid concerns about rising tensions between the U.S. and China. The Port itself remained under SBMA and PPA ownership.[10]
The Battle of Manila Bay, also known as the Battle of Cavite, took place on 1 May 1898, during the Spanish–American War. The American Asiatic Squadron under Commodore George Dewey engaged and destroyed the Spanish Pacific Squadron under Contraalmirante Patricio Montojo. The battle took place in Manila Bay in the Philippines, and was the first major engagement of the Spanish–American War. The battle was one of the most decisive naval battles in history and marked the end of the Spanish colonial period in Philippine history.
Olongapo, officially the City of Olongapo, is a 1st class highly urbanized city in the Central Luzon region of the Philippines. Located in the province of Zambales but governed independently from the province, it has a population of 260,317 people according to the 2020 census.
Rear Admiral Patricio Montojo y Pasarón was a career Spanish naval officer who commanded Spain's Pacific Squadron based in the Philippines during the Spanish–American War. Considered a man of high ability and experience, he was given the difficult task of defending the Spanish Philippines with a small navy and low supplies against a larger U.S. Asiatic Squadron. Despite his valor and determination, Montojo's navy was defeated at the decisive Battle of Manila Bay by U.S. Navy Commodore George Dewey. He was later held accountable for the defeat and was court-martialed in Spain. Although the decision was later overturned, Montojo was still discharged from the Spanish Navy.
The Asiatic Squadron was a squadron of United States Navy warships stationed in East Asia during the latter half of the 19th century. It was created in 1868 when the East India Squadron was disbanded. Vessels of the squadron were primarily involved in matters relating to American commerce with China and Japan, though it participated in several conflicts over 34 years of service until becoming the Asiatic Fleet in 1902.
Subic, officially the Municipality of Subic, is a 1st class municipality in the province of Zambales, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 111,912 people.
Subic Bay International Airport serves as a secondary and diversion airport for Ninoy Aquino International Airport in Metro Manila and Clark International Airport in Pampanga. It also serves the immediate area of the Subic Bay Freeport Zone, the provinces of Bataan and Zambales, and the general area of Olongapo in the Philippines.
International Container Terminal Services, Inc. (ICTSI) is a global port management company headquartered in Manila, Philippines. Established on December 24, 1987, ICTSI is the Philippines' largest multinational and transnational company, having established operations in both developed and emerging market economies in Asia Pacific, the Americas, and Europe, the Middle East and Africa. The company is ranked the eighth largest container terminal operator, according to TEU equity volume.
The Subic Special Economic and Freeport Zone, often shortened as Subic Bay or Subic, is a special economic zone and freeport area covering portions of the city of Olongapo and the town of Subic in Zambales, and the towns of Hermosa and Morong in Bataan in the Philippines. The relatively developed and fenced area is called the Subic Bay Freeport Zone (SBFZ).
Subic Bay is a bay on the west coast of the island of Luzon in the Philippines, about 100 kilometers (62 mi) northwest of Manila Bay. An extension of the South China Sea, its shores were formerly the site of a major United States Navy facility, U.S. Naval Base Subic Bay, now an industrial and commercial area known as the Subic Bay Freeport Zone under the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority.
Reina Cristina was an Alfonso XII-class unprotected cruiser of the Spanish Navy built at the naval shipyard at Ferrol and launched 2 May 1887. Reina Cristina spent her early years in Spanish waters. In 1894 she was transferred to the Spanish Navy's Asiatic Squadron to deter any aggressive moves the German Empire might take against the Spanish-owned Caroline Islands in the Pacific. When Spain faced the "Tagalog Revolt" (1896–1897) – the Spanish name for the first two years of the Philippine Revolution – in the Philippine Islands, Reina Cristina was actively involved in the Spanish campaign to put down the revolt. In addition to patrolling Philippine waters to prevent the smuggling of contraband to the insurgents, she also supported Spanish Army actions against them at Cavite, Novaleta, and Binacayan, including the provision of naval gunfire support to Spanish troops ashore.
Don Antonio de Ulloa was a Velasco-class unprotected cruiser of the Spanish Navy that fought in the Battle of Manila Bay during the Spanish–American War. She was built at La Carraca shipyard, Cadiz, Spain. Her keel was laid in 1883 and the vessel was launched on 23 January 1887. Don Antonio de Ulloa took an active part in Spanish military action against Philippine insurgents during the "Tagalog Revolt" (1896–1897), the Spanish name for the first two years of the Philippine Revolution. During her overhaul in Manila bay whilst part of the squadron of Rear Admiral Patricio Montojo y Pasarón, the Battle of Manila Bay occurred. With her reduced complement, armament, and inability to maneuver she was sunk with little resistance.
Don Juan de Austria was a Velasco-class unprotected cruiser of the Spanish Navy that fought in the Battle of Manila Bay during the Spanish–American War.
Castilla was an Aragon-class unprotected cruiser of the Spanish Navy that fought in the Battle of Manila Bay during the Spanish–American War. She was built at Cadiz, Spain. Her construction as an armored corvette with a central battery ironclad design began in 1869. In 1870, her design was changed to that of an unprotected cruiser or wooden corvette, and, after political events delayed her construction. During the first two years of the Philippine Revolution in 1896–1897, Castilla patrolled to intercept contraband destined for the Philippine insurgents and supported Spanish Army forces fighting ashore in Cavite Province on Luzon. When the Spanish–American War broke out in April 1898, Castilla was part of the squadron of Rear Admiral Patricio Montojo y Pasarón in Manila Bay and was subsequently engaged and sunk in the Battle of Manila Bay.
Naval Station Sangley Point was a communication and hospital facility of the United States Navy which occupied the northern portion of the Cavite City peninsula and is surrounded by Manila Bay, approximately eight miles southwest of Manila, the Philippines. The station was a part of the Cavite Navy Yard across the peninsula. The naval station had a runway that was built after World War II, which was used by U.S. Navy Lockheed P-2 Neptune, Lockheed P-3 Orion, and Martin P4M Mercator maritime patrol and anti-submarine warfare aircraft. An adjacent seaplane runway, ramp area and seaplane tender berths also supported Martin P5M Marlin maritime patrol aircraft until that type's retirement from active naval service in the late 1960s. NAS Sangley Point/NAVSTA Sangley Point was also used extensively during the Vietnam War, primarily for U.S. Navy patrol squadrons forward deployed from the United States on six-month rotations. The naval station was turned over to the Philippine government in 1971. It is now operated by the Philippine Air Force and Philippine Navy.
Naval Base Subic Bay was a major ship-repair, supply, and rest and recreation facility of the Spanish Navy and subsequently the United States Navy located in Zambales, Philippines. The base was 262 square miles (680 km2), about the size of Singapore. The Navy Exchange had the largest volume of sales of any exchange in the world, and the Naval Supply Depot handled the largest volume of fuel oil of any navy facility in the world. The naval base was the largest overseas military installation of the United States Armed Forces, after Clark Air Base in Angeles City was closed in 1991. Following its closure in 1992, it was transformed into the Subic Bay Freeport Zone by the Philippine government.
Hanjin Heavy Industries and Construction Philippines, also known as HHIC Phil, was a Philippines-based shipbuilding company established in February 2006 by Hanjin Heavy Industries and Construction of South Korea. In the same month, its first shipbuilding contract was signed for four container ships. In May 2006, the construction of a shipyard began on Redondo Peninsula, on the western edge of Subic Bay.
The Battle of Olongapo was fought September 18–23, 1899, during the Philippine–American War. The battle featured both land and sea fighting, of which the objective was the destruction of the single Filipino artillery gun in Olongapo, a menace to American ships crossing the nearby sea.
The Redondo Peninsula is a short mountainous peninsula extending about 15 kilometers to the south of Zambales on western Luzon in the Philippines. It separates Subic Bay and the coasts around the Subic Bay Metropolitan Area of Subic and Olongapo from the South China Sea. It is known for its secluded coves, beaches and pine-forested mountains.
The Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority is a governmental agency of the Philippines. The SBMA has played a significant part in the development of the Subic Special Economic and Freeport Zone into a self-sustainable area that promotes the industrial, commercial, investment, and financial areas of trade in the zone as well as in the Philippines itself.
Agila Subic Multi-Use Facilities are a shipyard in Subic, Zambales, Philippines. It is located along the coastline of the Redondo Peninsula in Sitio Agusuhin.
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