The Mactan Channel also known as Opon Channel is the channel between main island of Cebu and the smaller Mactan Island. The body of water is located within Metro Cebu separating Lapu-Lapu City on Mactan Island from Mandaue City and Cebu City in mainland Cebu. It is one of the three channels that connect the Cebu Strait to the Camotes Sea - the other two being Olango Channel and Hilutangan Channel. It is the main passageway for ships navigating between Cebu and Bohol. [1][2]
The port of Cebu - the second largest port in the country - is located along Mactan Channel and has been used since the Spanish Colonial Period. It was organized a Channel in Cebu on March 1,1958.. The channel was first spanned by the Mactan-Mandaue Bridge in 1971 and then by the Marcelo Fernan Bridge in 1999.