THE SLUMP in global trade has left a growing number of empty cargo ships and tankers searching for the cheapest places to drop anchor.
Risk management foundation Det Norske Veritas reported about a thousand of the world's shipping vessels have been idled for lack of freight, and the number could increase to several thousand in the next few years.
Eager to profit from the new ship-parking business, the Philippines has opened four ports to laid-up vessels and is considering requests to add at least two more.
In Subic Bay, a former U.S. naval base north of Manila, it costs just over 17 cents a ton to park a ship for a day. More than half the 20 ships anchored in Subic weigh 151,000 deadweight tons.
Most stay at least a month, costing shipping firms big bills in addition to the cost of food and salaries for the crews minding the idle vessels.
Shipping companies normally prefer to lay off most of the crew until business improves as paying a captain and an average crew of 17 to live on an empty vessel normally costs more than $30,000 a month.
Three other ports in the southern Philippines have allowed 25 ships to anchor with only skeleton crews, but insurance companies demand higher premiums because the region is fraught with Islamic militants and pirates.
The Subic Bay port's total revenue is up 127% this year.
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