Ocean Adventure

Ocean Adventure is an open-space marine zoological park in the Morong, Bataan portion of the Subic Special Economic and Freeport Zone in the Philippines.

Ocean Adventure

Location	Subic Freeport Zone, Morong, Bataan, Philippines
Coordinates	14°45′52.3″N 120°15′09.9″E
Theme	Marine park
Owner	Subic Bay Marine Exploratorium
Operated by	Subic Bay Marine Exploratorium
Opened	October 2001
Visitors per annum	500,000 (2012)
Attractions
Shows	Sea Lion Show Whale Presentation
Website	oceanadventure.ph
Status	Operating

History

Ocean Adventure opened to the public in October 2001 with its initial facilities built at a cost of $7.5 million.[1] The marine facility was built at Camayan Point which formerly hosted a ammunition pier.[2]

In its first year of operations, false killer whale viewing and sea lion shows were among the marine park's attractions. In June 2002, the Subic Bay Marine Exploratorium (SBME) secured a 75-year lease with the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) over Ilanin Bay's shoreline and waters, including Miracle Beach which increased the area of the Ocean Adventure marine park from 13 acres (5.3 ha) to 27 acres (11 ha).[1]

A dispute has been ongoing between the SBME and the SBMA since the early 2010s.[3] The latter terminated its lease contract with the former alleging that SBME violated terms of its lease agreement; violations cited are illegal subleasing of property, constructing without permits, improper waste storage, and closure of public roads.[4] It began when the SBME developed "The Hill", a residential area populated with expatriates.[3]

In 2017, the marine park was named Best Theme Park in the inaugural edition of the United Stars Events and Exhibitions Corp.-organized Philippine Tourism Industry Awards in 2017/[5]

The SBMA seized undeveloped portions of land owned by SBME, including land meant for future development of Ocean Adventure in October 2019.[6] The SBMA also gave the SBME to slow down activities in SBME-developed land including the marine park within two years.[4]

Operations seized for seven months in 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Ocean Adventure resumed operations in October 2020.[7]

Facilities and attractions

Ocean Adventure is managed by Subic Bay Marine Exploratorium, Inc which is a locator in the Subic Special Economic and Freeport Zone and also runs the Camayan Beach Resort and the Adventure Beach Waterpark.[3] The marine park itself is located within the West Ilanin Forest Area which is in the town of Morong, Bataan portion of the Subic economic zone.[8] The marine park has three primary attractions namely the Sea Lion Show, Whale Presentation and the Discovery Aquarium.[5]

Visitors

According to data from the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority in 2012, the marine park receives 500,000 visitors annually making Ocean Adventure among the top tourist destinations in the Central Luzon region.[9]

References

1. "Adventure like no other at Subic Bay's unique marine park". The Philippine Star. November 9, 2002. Retrieved October 30, 2020.
2. Empeño, Henry (November 29, 2019). "SBMA: No forest destroyed for Subic SEA Games | Henry Empeño". BusinessMirror. Retrieved October 30, 2020.
3. Datu, Mahatma (October 24, 2019). "Ocean Adventure files raps vs. SBMA". Philippine News Agency. Retrieved October 30, 2020.
4. Roxas, Patrick (September 28, 2019). "SBMA to close down Ocean Adventure Park". The Manila Times. Retrieved October 30, 2020.
5. Empeño, Henry (November 9, 2017). "Subic's Ocean Adventure named Philippines's best theme park this yea". BusinessMirror.
6. "SBMA takes over undeveloped property of Ocean Adventure". Rappler. October 28, 2019. Retrieved October 30, 2020.
7. "Animal shows back at Subic marine theme park". Philippine Daily Inquirer. October 9, 2020. Retrieved October 30, 2020.
8. "Getting there". Ocean Adventure, Subic Bay. Retrieved October 30, 2020.
9. "Marine park owner hits back at activists". Philippine Daily Inquirer. 15 October 2012. Retrieved October 30, 2020.