Hanjin christens first-ever Philippine-made LPG carrier
SUBIC BAY FREEPORT ZONE – Korea’s shipbuilding giant Hanjin Heavy Industry and Construction Co., Ltd. –Philippines (HHIC-Phil) recently unveiled the first-ever Philippine-made Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) carrier during a naming ceremony held at the Redondo Peninsula facility last week.
The 38,000m3 class LPG carrier made inside Hanjin’s shipbuilding facility in Subic Freeport is the first in the country that was made by Filipino shipbuilders. The LPG carrier was ordered by Belgian shipping company Exmar Shipping BVBA and was christened as “Kaprijke” by company owner – the Saverys family.
The christening ceremony was attended by the Saverys family, Exmar executives and top Hanjin officials and shipping company executives. Hanjin officials said that they started construction on the LPG carrier on June of last year and launched it in April of this year. The carrier measures 180m in length, 29.4m in breadth and 18.0m in depth.
The unprecedented event has once again affirmed the world-class craftsmanship of Filipino workers in the global shipbuilding industry.
In a statement, HHIC-Phil President Jeong Sup Shim recounts the challenges the company had to go through in putting up state-of-the-art shipyard in the country’s premier Freeport. He attributed the company’s success to the support of the Philippine government and outstanding work ethic of Hanjin shipyard workers.
“It is our company’s earnest desire and long term commitment to catapult the Philippines as the number one shipbuilding country in the world,” Shim said. Citing the June 2015 edition of the shipping journal published by highly authoritative Europe-based Clarksons Research, Shim said “both the Philippines and HHIC-Phil. Inc. have been making great strides in the international business scene, motivating us to push ourselves to the limit to bring more prosperity not only for our company but also for our generous host – the Filipino people.”
He added that “The Philippines is currently ranked 4th in the world in terms of order book by builder country with 2.1 Gross Compensated Tonnage (CGT) for new vessel”. Quoting the same report, Shim stated “Hanjin Subic shipyard is the 10th largest shipyard in the world in terms of order book by shipyard, accounting to 1.8 GCT or 74% of the Philippines’ CGT for new vessels.”
The shipbuilding company still has seven LPG carriers in the company’s orderbook to be delivered in the immediate future. In 2012, HHIC-Phil Inc. has put the country in the worldwide spotlight with the simultaneous inauguration of two Suezmax Crude Oil Tankers first ever built on the Philippine shore.
HHIC-Phil Inc. has been building huge commercial vessels ranging from container ships to bulk carriers, crude oil tankers and off-shore structures mainly for overseas clients since 2008. HHIC-Phil Inc.’s Hanjin Subic shipyard boasts of one of the largest drydocks in the world today.
Its drydock No. 5 measures 370mx100mx12.5m, while drydock No. 6 tilts the scale at 550mx135mx13m. Complementing such mammoth facilities is the shipyard’s quay wall that stretches up to 4 kilometers. With its competitive advantage in terms of highly skilled workforce, latest technology and physical assets, HHIC-Phil Inc. can accommodate immediate construction of ultra large vessels including containerships with capacity ranging from 11,000 TEU to 20, 600 TEU.