South Korean shipbuilding giant Hanjin Heavy Industry and Construction Co., Ltd.-Philippines (HHIC-Phil) recently unveiled the first Philippine-made liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) carrier built in its Redondo Peninsula facility at Subic Bay Freeport.
Classified as a 38,405-cubic-meter tanker, the carrier—christened MV Kaprijke—measures 180 meters in length, 29.4 meters in breadth, and 18 meters in depth.
The vessel is the first of eight mid-size gas carriers ordered in February 2013 by Bermuda-based Teekay LNG and Belgian company Exmar for their joint venture Exmar Shipping BVBA. The remaining seven vessels will be delivered in the immediate future.
Construction of the LPG carrier started in June last year and the ship was launched in April of this year. LPG carriers are designed to carry mainly shipments of butane, propane, butadiene, propylene and vinyl chloride monomer, as well as anhydrous ammonia.
In a statement, HHIC-Phil president Jeong Sup Shim said the christening of the new vessel “has once again affirmed the world-class craftsmanship of Filipino workers in the global shipbuilding industry.”
“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,” Shim said.
“The Philippines is currently ranked fourth in the world in terms of order book by builder country with 2.1 gross compensated tonnage (GCT) for new vessel,” Shim said, citing the June 2015 edition of the shipping journal by Europe-based Clarksons Research.
HHIC-Phil’s shipyard in Subic Bay is the 10th largest shipyard in the world in terms of order book, accounting for 1.8 GCT or 74% of the Philippines’ total GCT for new vessels.
The company noted the country was placed on the world’s spotlight of shipbuilding when it simultaneously inaugurated in 2012 two Suezmax crude oil tankers, the first ever ships of this type to be built in the Philippines.
As of August 2015, HHIC-Phil said it has delivered a total of 82 ships, as well as completed five offshore projects.
According to Shim, “it is our company’s earnest desire and long term commitment to catapult the Philippines as the number one shipbuilding country in the world.”
