Roble Shipping has moved people, vehicles and cargo between Cebu and the Eastern Visayas since 1985. One vessel then; twenty-one now, about 350 people ashore and at sea, and a night sailing out of Pier 3 almost every evening of the year.
Our history
Four decades at sea.
One vessel in 1985, twenty-one now. 5 of the 6 milestones below are the shape of the company’s growth rather than a published date — each one says so.
1985
One ship, one route
Engr. Jose Luma-ad Roble, Jr. of Danao City incorporates Roble Shipping Inc. on 20 February and puts M/V Marao to sea.
1990s
The Leyte routes take shape
Regular sailings to Hilongos, Baybay and Ormoc establish the pattern the line still runs today.
Indicative — not a published date.
2000s
RORO fleet expansion
Roll-on/roll-off vessels replace the older ships, so vehicles and cargo can drive straight aboard.
Indicative — not a published date.
2010s
ISM implementation
International safety management procedures are rolled out across the fleet, with drilled crews and audited maintenance.
Indicative — not a published date.
2019
First website
Schedules and fares go online for the first time.
Indicative — not a published date.
2026
A new digital platform
Live sailing board, a fare calculator, outlet finder and advisories — everything a passenger used to have to phone in.
Indicative — not a published date.
The ships
Three ships that mark the line
1985
One ship starts it all
M/V Marao, Roble's first vessel, opens the Cebu–Leyte crossing the year the company is incorporated.
2023
A new flagship
MV Immaculate Stars enters service on the Hilongos route in October 2023 — the biggest ROPAX Roble has ever run.
2026
First-ever newbuild
MV Mother Immaculate Stars launches 16 May 2026 at a shipyard in Taizhou, China — the first vessel Roble has ever ordered new, rather than bought secondhand.
From the September 2026 vessel research pass — sourced facts, not estimates.
What drives us
Mission, vision and values
Mission
To bring passengers and cargoes to their destinations by acquiring and maintaining top class vessels and implementing global competence in procedures to assure safety and comfort in sea travel.
Vision
Full implementation of international safety management (ISM) standards across our ships and our business, so that every crossing is as safe and as comfortable as the last.
Values
- Excellence. A clean ship, a fare you can check before you travel, and a departure you can plan around.
- Perseverance. Forty years of sailings through good seasons and hard ones, on routes that smaller lines have left.
- Innovation. New vessels, new classes and now a site that answers the questions people used to have to phone in.
- Safety first. ISM procedures, drilled crews and maintained life-saving gear on every vessel we run.
Safety is the procedure, not the poster
Safety & ISM
Every Roble vessel runs to international safety management standards: documented procedures, drilled crews, maintained life-saving equipment and CCTV throughout the passenger decks. Officers hold current PRC licences and STCW certification.
ISM code implementation
Documented safety-management procedures on every vessel, audited and updated as the fleet grows.
Crew certification
Officers carry current PRC licences; ratings hold Basic Safety Training (BST), Crowd and Crisis Management (CCM), COLREG and more.
Drills & life-saving appliances
Boat stations, fire drills and a check of the life-saving gear before every voyage.
Vessel maintenance
Planned maintenance and dry-docking keep the fleet seaworthy, logged against every vessel's certificates.
What we do
Four services, one line
- PassengerRORO passenger sailings on the Cebu–Hilongos, Cebu–Baybay and Cebu–Ormoc routes.Timetables
- RORO & cargoVehicles of every size and general or containerised freight, driven straight aboard.Freight rates
- TrampUnscheduled bulk and cargo runs arranged directly with the freight desk.Talk to the desk
- CharterA vessel of your own for group travel, relief operations or a bulk movement.Charter a vessel
Leadership
Founded by Engr. Jose Luma-ad Roble, Jr.
Of Barangay Sabang, Danao City, Cebu — who registered Roble Shipping Inc. on 20 February 1985 and put the company’s first vessel, M/V Marao, to sea. Filipino-owned, serving Regions VII and VIII — Central and Eastern Visayas.
Management profiles are provided by Roble Shipping — this demonstration names no officer the company has not named itself.
Head office
Roble Building, E.S. Baclig St., T. Padilla Extension, North Reclamation Area, Cebu City 6000
Bringing back the fun and joy of sea travel.
Roble in four figures
1985
Sailing since
21
Vessels
4
Ports sailing now
350
Crew & staff
- Sailing since
- Incorporated 20 February 1985 with one vessel, M/V Marao.
- Vessels
- Passenger RORO, freight and tramp vessels across the fleet.
- Ports sailing now
- Cebu, Hilongos, Baybay and Ormoc. Catbalogan and Naval return when their routes resume.
- Crew & staff
- Officers, ratings, ticket clerks and shore teams across Regions VII and VIII.