NEW WORLDS

shipbuilding industry is affected by the changing economic- political circumstances and government policy in a globalized world. Philippine- Chinese enterprise and legacies, and their continued cooperation as they work together amid disputes are key factors for the industry’s success in the Philippines.

Josefa Slipways Inc. Navotas was established as a shipbuilding and ship repair corporation in 2005. As soon as its license was approved by Marina ( Maritime Industry Authority), the incorporators consolidated their capital and assets, built up a dry dock, mechanized operations, trained and hired as many shipwrights from Navotas as possible.

They hired workers from Navotas since the people of the city have a long history of boat- making, shipbuilding and ship repair, not

- al and interisland transportation.

As the incorporators modernized their trade, they drew from the long experience of building wooden- hulled boats from industry veterans, among them, 69- year old Lamberto Aguilar.

The incorporators trace the upgrade of the industry to Luis Yangco, who descended from a Chinese ancestry. This family built

1880. Yangco improved the local small-scale wooden-hulled boat building and upgraded the industry using steel materials.

With the assistance of Navotas Mayor John Rey Tiangco, the incorporators consolidated the finances of the members of the Metro Manila Shipyard Association. The company steadily improved its ship repair operations, graduating into building larger steel- hulled ships from 500 to 1,500 gross register ton.

When demand for ship repair and shipbuilding grew, the company expanded its operations to Sual, Pangasinan.

For years, the Filipino- owned shipbuilders and ship repairers have been urging the government to extend assistance to them in the form of loans at lower interest rates, improved infrastructure, water and energy facilities, and workers’ technical skills upgrade,

In the past, the government policy focused more on attracting foreign direct investments, providing them many incentives not extended to Philippine companies. Moreover, the government did not encourage Filipino shipbuilding but allowed local companies to rely on decommissioned US Navy water craft.

Most Filipino shipping companies also preferred importing second- to fifth- hand ships from abroad rather than building their own ships.

Josefa Slipways Inc. seized the opportunity to build bigger ships when it won the bid to build surveillance ships for the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources ( BFAR) central office. The Bureau ordered two multi- mission offshore vessels ( MMOV) to undertake surveillance in the West Philippine Sea and the Philippine Rise along the Pacific Ocean.

The shift in government policy enabled the company to further upgrade their facilities and operations. Ironically,

and steel manufacturing, as well as related industries, to upgrade the local shipbuilding industry.

Also noteworthy is the priority given to the improvement of technical skills in the country’s maritime industry. In May, the Philippine Register of Shipping ( PRS) and China’s Harbin Engineering