Hanjin unveils first oil tanker built in RP

SUBIC BAY FREEPORT , Philippines  – Korean shipbuilder Hanjin Heavy Industries Corp.-Philippines unveiled last Friday the first and biggest crude oil tanker built in the country during a naming ceremony at its compound at the Redondo Peninsula here.

The 114,000-deadweight ton tanker was named M/T Leyla K by its Turkish owner, the Kaptanoglu Shipping Line, said Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) chairman Feliciano Salonga.

Leyla K has a length of 241.3 meters and breadth of 44 meters. The first steel for the tanker was cut in November 2008, while its keel was laid in May 2009. The ship was launched last October.

Salonga witnessed the naming ceremony along with SBMA administrator Armand Arreza and Zambales Gov. Amor Deloso.

The naming ceremony was also attended by HHIC-Philippines president Seung Chil Lee, representatives of the ship classification society Lloyd Register, and executives of Kaptanoglu Shipping Line led by Engin Kaptanoglu, who ordered the tanker from Hanjin.

Salonga said the production of the first oil tanker marks a new era for the Subic Bay Freeport, which he added is now in the big league of shipbuilding.

“I won’t be surprised if (Hanjin) will start constructing several oil tankers at the same time... It won’t be long before Filipino shipbuilders will be famous in this industry,” he added.

The $1.7-billion Hanjin shipyard here, which currently employs 17,000 workers, is now the world’s fourth largest shipbuilding facility.

As of end-2009, Salonga said Hanjin had produced eight container and bulk vessels.

By 2012, Hanjin is due to deliver 36 more vessels to customers worldwide.

Hanjin started constructing its Subic shipyard in February 2006 and delivered its first product in July 2008 – the 4,300-TEU container ship “Argolikos,” which was delivered to the Greek shipping company Dioryx.