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He was already making a mark running the family-owned textile dealership business in the late 1980s.
But Chester Cokaliong wanted to set his sail in an unfamiliar territory: shipping.
Chester, then 28, saw the potentials in the shipping business considering that the country is an archipelago of 7,107 islands. He decided to make the business shift in 1989.
After getting the blessing from his mother, Gregoria Cokaliong, he went into the shipping industry, armed only with a passion to learn the ropes and the determination to excel in the business.
Twenty years later, Cokaliong Shipping Lines Inc. (CSLI) has become a strong force in the shipping industry.
Their vessels have been reaping awards. This year, the Maritime Industry Authority in Central Visayas (Marina-7) has recognized Cokaliong’s MV Filipinas as Vessel of the Year.
But it was not a walk in the park for Chester.
first ship
“The maiden voyage of my first ship, MV Tandag, was on Dec. 8, 1989 and that's the date that we consider our founding date,” Cokaliong recalled.
At that time, his father Edgar was in a coma. He died three days after MV Tandag’s maiden voyage.
Reeling from the pain of losing his father, Chester focused on studying the business with the help of his sister, Leslie who is CSLI’s vice president for finance and administration, and wife, Anna Lynne, who is vice president for marketing and branches.
His day would start with watching his vessels arrive in the pier about 7 a.m. to 8 a.m. It would end with monitoring the departure of his vessels until the last ship would leave at 9 p.m.
“I didn't go out with friends nor go on vacation with my kids because I had to monitor my ships,” said Chester.
Chester kept constant communication with his ship captains. He even got them cellular phones so they could easily get in touch with him especially when there were troubles, a practice which Chester said was not being done by some shipping firms.
style
A friend who was also in the shipping industry had once told him that his style of operation was not the way to manage the business. “I told him everyone has their own style of managing. This is how I run mine.”
“Let's face it. Every shipping company has had their share of accidents. I did have one too in December of 1991 which almost made me give up. My ship met an accident just along the Mactan Channel and it was a major challenge for me. I can only imagine other ship companies with numerous accidents.”
transfer
But the possibility of failing in the business was something Chester would never allow.
With the help of his family, he was able to overcome his challenges and steer the company towards success.
In 1998, CSLI transferred to a better home at Cokaliong House, in the North Reclamation Area.
The family-owned building was a lot bigger compared to the small office that they used to hold on 46-D Jakosalem Street, Cebu City since the CSLI started in 1989.
Cokaliong House also serves as a ticketing office providing ample seats and air conditioned waiting area for their customers, another first in Cebu.
His and his family’s sacrifices paid off when government agencies started recognizing the shipping firm’s innovations and good service.
Profits also started to come in.
awards
In 1995, Chester was recognized by Capt. Joaquin Tan of the Philippine Coast Guard for the prompt response of the officers and crew of MV Filipinas Dapitan in rescuing the crew of MB St. Luke which sank off Bilaa Point, Surigao City on Aug. 17, 1995.
Since then, CSLI has been receiving awards.
This year, CSLI won three out of nine categories in the Regional Search for MASTERS 2008 given by the Marine-7.
These are the Vessel of the Year award for MV Filipinas Cebu and Coastwise Domestic Shipping Company. Master Mariner Saviniano E. Fuderanan of MV Filipinas Cebu bagged the Master of the year for 2008.
“We actually got three out of four award categories for shipping companies as the other five categories are for ship building and repair companies. That's 75percent,” said Chester.
marina awardee
This is the first award given by Marine for regional and national level. Regional nominees were judged by a board constituted by the Maritime Regional Office and Central office.
Regional winners like, CSLI automatically qualifies for the National Awards competing with nine other regional winners which will be held before year ends. Marina Administrator sits as chairman of the National Board of Judges .
The regional awarding will be on Dec. 2 at Casino Español.
criteria
Criteria for the awards included a good safety record, the least number of violations and penalties, age profile of ships being operated, importance of routes being served, rated level of service standards for passengers and cargos, economic contribution to the regional and national economy, and most notable achievement with regional or national significance.
These awards merely indicate the standards set by Chester in his shipping firm.
vessels
To date, CSLI has 12 vessels, eight are serving the different ports while four have been retired and sold as scrap.
All eight vessels are roll-on-roll-off (Ro-ro) vessels. The company’s manpower has also grown from 40 personnel in 1989 to a strong 500 employees.
His latest ship, MV Filipinas Cebu, was acquired in July this year.
“I'm proud to say that we have the two youngest Ro-ro ships in the country, the MV Filipinas Cebu and MV Filipinas Ozamis,” said Chester.
He also spent around P8 million to upgrade the monitoring system of MV Filipinas Cebu –an indication that safety standards was something Chester takes so seriously that he doesn’t mind spending.
Starting the business was not a joke considering the millions of pesos in investment.
But Chester was glad that he took the risk.
Now, CSLI is celebrating its 20th year in the business on Dec. 8.
And Chester is pulling out all the stops to make sure that this milestone will be a grandiose event.
book
“I have invited around 500 guests for this event as I will be launching my book which was in the making for three years,” he said.
The book, titled Cokaliong Shipping Lines Inc., A commemorative history 1989-2009, illustrates the history of CSLI including important milestones of the company.
After 20 years, Chester is not about to sit on his laurels.
He plans to improve customer services, even the most basic, to bring convenience to his passengers.
One of these is putting up drinking fountains in all his vessels so passengers will have an option on whether to buy bottled water or get water from the drinking fountain.
market
Chester may buy more vessels but it will depend on market demand although they have not been affected by global economic crisis.
“I would be a hypocrite if I'd say we're not profiting and yet I bought a new vessel in July and upgraded my monitoring system. So speaking for CSLI alone, we are doing pretty well,” he said.
Within only 20 years, CSLI has acquired about P1 billion in assets, a major feat considering that the shipping firm was built by people who had zero knowledge could be proud of.
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Successful business ventures in the shipping and transport industry are this month’s features in this section.
