Chelsea taps Japan shipping firm for expansion of Starlite Ferries

MANILA, Philippines — Dennis Uy’s Chelsea Logistics and Infrastructure Holdings Corp. has partnered with Kumiai Senpaku Co. Ltd., one of the largest independent shipping companies in Japan, to finance the construction and acquisition of the latest passenger vessel of Starlite Ferries Inc.

Starlite Ferries is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Chelsea.

Chelsea president & CEO Chryss Alfonsus Damuy said the company’s new strategic partnership with Kumiai underscores its long standing and ongoing commitment to shipping modernization, becoming the country’s prime mover of vital goods, cargoes and people. 

“We look to Kumiai as a leader in Japan’s shipping industry, whose excellence can bring our local shipping industry to global standards,” Damuy said.

Under the partnership, Kumiai will finance the construction of the 98-meter passenger ferry with Hull S-1191 that would be built by Kegoya Dock Co. Ltd. at its shipyard in Hiroshima, Japan.

Slated for delivery in April 2020, the S-1191 vessel will be the subject of a 20-year bareboat charter agreement between Kumiai’s subsidiary, Southern Pacific Holding Corp. as owner and Starlite Ferries as the charterer.

The agreement comes with an irrevocable obligation for Starlite Ferries to purchase the vessel at the end of the 20-year charter period.