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A unit
of the Magsaysay group will have its own double-hulled
tanker this month that the company intends to launch
ahead of the competition.
Sumilon
Island Tankers Inc., a division of the Magsaysay
Transport and Logistics Group, announced that its new
3,800-deadweight-ton double-hulled tanker M/T Mactan
Island will arrive in the country on June 30.
“The
construction of this new vessel demonstrates our strong
commitment to safety and environmental protection in the
carriage and transport of petroleum products in the
Philippines,”
the company said in a statement.
The
vessel, currently under construction at Rushan City
Shipbuilding Co. Ltd. in China, has a capacity of about
4 million liters for black petroleum products and will
be chartered exclusively by Pilipinas Shell for the
transport of fuel-oil products all over the Philippines
and possibly to neighboring Asian countries.
The
vessel is financed by Metropolitan Bank and Trust Co.
and insured by Pioneer Insurance & Surety Corp., the
company said.
Magsaysay did not elaborate on the price of the vessel,
but such a ship costs between $10 million and $15
million, according to industry estimates.
Magsaysay said it has engaged Hong Kong-based Fenwick
Shipping Services Ltd. as project managers for the
construction.
The
vessel is classed under Bureau Veritas, and its major
machineries are approved according to the standards of
the International Association of Classification
Societies.
The new
ship is the latest vessel under Magsaysay’s plan to buy
more vessels to modernize and expand its fleet.
Batangas
Bay Carriers, another Magsaysay unit, has ordered a
5,000 to 6,000 in gross tons double-hulled tanker from
Keppel Philippines Marine. The tanker is scheduled for
completion next February.
The
company is also expected to have new double-hulled
barges to move black oil.
At the
start of the year, National Marine Corp., also a
Magsaysay unit, introduced the
500-twenty-foot-equivalent-unit-capacity MV Romulo that
will ply the Manila-Davao-General Santos route. The
vessel is the sixth dedicated freighter for the company.
Magsaysay also bought a secondhand container vessel for
the use of Lorenzo Shipping Corp., a partly owned unit,
late last year. It sold its older vessel earlier in
2008. The vessels need not be double-hulled. |
