Kudos Welders - Shipbuilders

The first ocean-going vessel built entirely in Subic Bay underwent sea trials Tuesday (eight months after the keel was laid in Hanjin's Drydock #5) before being delivered to Greece in June. “Other shipbuilders would have taken at least 18 months after cutting the steel, to launch the same size of ship,” as per SBMA Chaiman Salonga.

This was an emotional moment for trainors since the success of the first ship built by Hanjin here in Subic means that Subic Bay Workers are indeed world class. Skills Training Director Edwin Piano was honored to witness this historic event.

Pyeong Jong Yu, Hanjin’s Outside Business Department manager, said the South Korean shipbuilder has fully completed the ship, a 41,000-ton cargo carrier M/V Argolikos, which has been ordered by the Greek shipping company Dioryx Marine Corp.

The shipbuilder is proud that the first vessel built within the Subic Bay Freeport Zone has undergone sea trials. The ship has already received certifications, including an Attestation Certificate from Bureau Veritas (Ship Surveyors), a Cargo Ship Safety Equipment Certificate, a complete crew list, and a Certificate of Competency of the Korean crew issued by the Busan Regional Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Office.

The ship has a gross weight of 41,000 tons, is 258.9 meters long, 32 meters wide and 19 meters high. Its optimal speed is 24.5 knots.

Five more units are expected to be delivered to Dioryx in the next few years.

Another six ships with individual capacities to carry 4,300 twenty-foot metal containers intended for the NSC Schiffartsgeselhaft of Germany are currently being built in Hanjin local shipyard.

The ship is temporarily identified as PN-001 but will be formally named by President Arroyo in June after sea trials are done. After the naming ceremony, the ship will officially be delivered to Dioryx Maritime Corporation in Greece.

The PN-001 will be the first of the 16 container vessels of similar specifications to be built by Hanjin in Subic. The 16 ships ordered from Hanjin would cost a total of close to $1 billion, with the price of each ship costing $60 million. Undoubtedly a significant contribution to the Philippine economy and a boost to local work force.

Hanjin, which is one of the biggest shipbuilders in the world today, has an investment of about $1.8 billion for its shipyard project in Subic. About 14,000 workers benefited both directly and indirectly from the project.