Locals still dominate Labuan shipyard's workforce

LABUAN: People from Labuan still dominate the workforce at shipbuilder Labuan Shipyard Engineering Sdn Bhd (LSE), comprising 55 per cent of the more than 300 employees working in the organisation's various departments.

Once known as Malaysia's largest shipbuilder, having the largest open yard in Asia for shipbuilding and repair jobs with over 2,000 employees, LSE now only focuses on ship repair jobs, as shipbuilding jobs are scarce amid the current shipping business.

Labuan Member of Parliament Datuk Rozman Isli said the LSE was still among Labuan's major employers, having recruited hundreds of locals from Labuan, Sabah, Sarawak and the peninsula for its round-the-clock operation.

“We should be proud of having the LSE continue to be in operation. At least the skilled and semi-skilled workforce from Labuan have the opportunity to work here with better technical exposure and jobs of international standard,” he said at a press conference after visiting the LSE yards yesterday.

Rozman was accompanied by two Labuan Corporation's advisory council members Simsudin Sidek and Noor Halim Zaini.

He said the business development progress in Labuan Shipyard had an economic spillover to the business community and the island's economy as a whole.

“I was told the LSE has a number of vendors from Labuan, and they benefit economically from the business activities here,” he said.

Rozman said the LSE's business deals with foreign expatriates also created an economic spin-off for the hoteliers and shop operators.

LSE, which is owned by Radimax Group Sdn Bhd and Sapura Energy Bhd, is a leading integrated solutions provider for both the marine and oil and gas industry in the Asia-Pacific region.

To-date, the yard has built a wide range of vessels, from the simple fishing trawlers to the more sophisticated and complex chemical and clean product tankers. These include the MV Bunga Semarak and MV Bunga Santian, both of which are 16,500-DWT palm oil/ chemical tankers and the largest ever built in Malaysia. - Bernama