Hanjin delivers third locally-made VLCC

HANJIN Heavy Industries & Construction- Philippines Inc. ( HHIC- Phil Inc.) marked a milestone when it held a delivery signing ceremony for a 300,000 DWT class Very Large Crude Oil Carrier ( VLCC) manufactured at its Redondo Peninsula, Subic Freeport Zone facility on October 9.

The occasion cemented HHIC-Phil’s position in the global shipbuilding arena as the builder of choice for this commercial vessel type. The M/V Gener8 Nestor was the third VLCC built in the 300-hectare shipyard.

The brand new ship adds to the growing fleet of the shipping conglomerates Gener8 and Navig8, which has headquarters in the United States and Singapore, respectively. It was the second VLCC to be delivered by HHIC- Phil Inc. after the successful turnover in December 2016 of the M/ V Gener8 Hector, which was the firstever Philippine- made VLCC.

Powered by MAN 7g80ME- C9-2 engine, the M/V Gener8 has a total deadweight tonnage of 297,637 metric tons and measures 321.924 meters in length and 60 meters in width. The vessel will enter service with Monrovia as its homeport. In June of this year, HHIC-Phil Inc. also delivered the VLCC class M/V TRF Hudson to its Norwegianbased Transportation Recovery Fund LP.

“[ The] VLCC class vessel is fast becoming the workhorse for the shipping industry especially engaged in the transport and logistics needs of the multi- billion dollar oil industry to fill in the global supply chain,” HHIC-Phil president Gwang Suk Chung said.

“M/V Gener8 Nestor could load up to 300,000 metric tons of precious crude oil to any destination in the world, or roughly equivalent to the entire Philippines’ 13- day fuel supply requirement in 2015. The Philippines sourced from overseas 65.14 million barrels of crude oil or 8.88 million metric tons that year,” he added.

HHIC-Phil Inc. has already delivered 111 vessels to overseas clients since July 2008, with an estimated export value of US$7 billion, some 10 years since it started operations.