First ship built by Hanjin in Subic launched for delivery this June

SUBIC BAY FREEPORT – The first ever ocean going vessel to be constructed in the Subic Bay Freeport is now undergoing outfitting prior to its delivery to a Greek shipping company this June.

Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) Chairman Feliciano Salonga said the vessel, worth $60 million, was launched less than a year after Hanjin cut the steel used in shipbuilding at its shipyard here.

“It’s a remarkable achievement, considering that other shipbuilders would have taken at least 18 months after cutting the steel, to launch the same size of ship,” Salonga told The STAR yesterday.

Salonga said the ship is temporarily called PN-001, but it will be formally named by President Arroyo in June after completing its outfitting and sea trials.

After the naming ceremony, the ship will be delivered officially to its Greek owner, the Dioryx Maritime Corp., Salonga added.

Built in less than two years after the groundbreaking of the Hanjin shipyard, the ship is designed for an optimum speed of 24.5 knots, or more than 45 kph.

Salonga said that PN-001 will be the first of the 16 container vessels of similar specifications to be built by Hanjin in Subic.

He said the 16 ships ordered from Hanjin would amount to almost $1 billion, with each ship costing $60 million.

Salonga also said the critics of the controversial Hanjin apartment complex being built in the former US Navy ammunition depot in the forest of Subic Bay Freeport should realize Hanjin’s economic contribution.

“About 40 percent of ship costs is spent on manpower, this means that about $400 million will go to the salaries of workers at the Hanjin Shipyard,” SBMA Administrator/Chief Executive Officer Armand Arreza also told The STAR.

“This is a huge contribution to the local economy,” he said.

Hanjin, one of the biggest shipbuilders in the world today, has invested about US$1.7 billion for its shipyard project here and now employs more than 10,000 workers, aside from those hired by its subcontractors.

Earlier, Hanjin said that it is also planning to build a bigger shipyard in Mindanao to accommodate more orders for new ships.