Tsuneishi Heavy Industries delivers biggest class ship

CEBU, Philippines - Tsuneishi Heavy Industries (Cebu), Inc.(THICI) has named and delivered MV Frontier Zone, a 180,000 deadweight metric ton (DWT) cape-size bulker, the biggest class ship ever built in the Philippines at its shipyard in Barangay Buanoy, Balamban town.

Delivered last January 20, MV Frontier Zone is the 173rd ship of THICI since its inception in 1994. It was officially launched in August of last year.

THICI officials said Frontier Zone is one of the four cape-size bulkers on the order book of 2013. The ship’s length is 286.90 meters while its breadth and depth are 45 meters and 24.50 meters, respectively.

The ship has nine cargo holds that are electric motor driven and has hatch covers that can load up to 200,000 cubic meters of cargo. Loading and discharging of cargo are done through land based equipment at the ports of call.

The ship’s upper deck area is enough to accommodate 30 basketball courts or two football fields of standard size.

Frontier Zone sailed to Singapore port prior to her cargo loading destination.

The first cape-size of THICI, the Tenshu Maru, was named by President Benigno Aquino III in 2010. THICI’s cape-size ships are constructed at its semi-tandem building dock that is 450 meters long by 60 meters wide and 9 meters deep.

Capesize bulkers are generally used in transportation of iron ore, coal and commodity raw materials.

As 2014 begins, Tsuneishi sets to deliver 20 ships this year that are already on the order book with two 180,000 DWT type cape-size bulker, 11 ships of 82,000 DWT type Kamsarmax bulker, six ships of 58,000 DWT type Handymax bulker and one 45,000 DWT box type bulker.

Tsuneishi Shipbuilding Group received 60 ships order in 2013, 30 of which are expected to be built in THI and is estimated to be delivered in 2016 and 2017.

“I would like to thank our employees for their efforts and pro-activeness, as well as our ship-owners and business partners for their trust. There are a lot that we can be grateful for despite all the challenges,” said THICI president Hitoshi Kono.

THICI last week also delivered a 58,000 DWT metric ton type Handymax bulker MV Crimson Queen, which sailed to an Indonesian port to load coal. The company will deliver another 58,000 DWT, the MV Paradise Island, to complete three deliveries for the month of January.

One of the leading shipbuilders in the world, THICI ships out vessels of up to 180,000 deadweight tons to different parts of the world from the town of Balamban, Cebu in the central Philippines using the same high quality shipbuilding technologies and standards as those in Tsuneishi Japan.

Shipbuilding, ship repair and manufacturing of outfitting for ships and vessels constitute the main business of the company.

Being diverse and multi-affiliated, THICI also engages in the engineering and fabrication services. (FREEMAN)