June 18, 2019. Batangas City | When I started visiting Occidental Mindoro back in 2015, I would board MV Maria Zenaida for most of the time.At the time, Zenaida is probably Montenegro Shipping Line’s biggest vessel servicing Batangas – Abra de Ilog route. She’s the one put on duty during rainy season because of her size and weight, allowing her to stand against wind and waves.
However, back then, Zenaida appeared to be worn out and off her prime already While the crew tries hard to keep her clean by constant repainting, she still looked old and beaten.Built in 1975 (marinetraffic.com), it takes 3-4 hours for Zenaida to reach Abra de Ilog Port from Batangas City Pier, vice versa. And if I’m not mistaken, the passengers area at second deck is an enclosed one with ailing airconditioning system.
But those were the old days. Montenegro Shipping Lines has renovated MV Maria Zenaida to provide more comfort to passengers.Still flashing vibrant green and yellow colors, Zenaida is now fully repainted from top to bottom.
The second deck is open to sea breeze and provides passengers with great view of the mighty sea while on voyage.She now dons fiber glass seats with four in a row at 348 sitting capacity.
According to one of the crews that we’ve interviewed, Zenaida spent two years at Lucena dry dock for its renovation and returned to active duty last January 2019. A good result of which is a big cut in travel time from three hours to just two hours at full speed capacity from Batangas to Abra De Ilog, or the other way around.
The new Zenaida also features a separate airconditioned room with stretches of sofa and with its own entertainment system.At the third deck, it has this open area where passengers can hang around. One may take the spiral steel stairs going to third deck where the muster rooms are situated.
The engine exhaust system that cut across the second deck is painted with Philippine map at one side. The other side showcases the entrace of Bagang Luya Cave of the Municipality of Abra de Ilog, coupled with the town’s tag line “Arya Abra”.
This is the first time I boarded Zenaida after its long absence from Batangas – Abra de Ilog maritime scene. And it went just fine as I head back to Mamburao, Occidental Mindoro.
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Punto Mindoro 