Hanjin launches 1st ocean-going container carrier built in Subic

SUBIC BAY FREEPORT — In less than two years after the groundbreaking of its shipyard at the Redondo Peninsula here, Hanjin Heavy Industries Corp.-Philippines (HHIC-Phil) has launched the first container ship ever to be built in the Subic Bay Freeport.

According to Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) Feliciano Salonga, the vessel which is 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 ship builders 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 named PN-001 but it will be formally named by President Arroyo in June after completing its outfitting sea trials.

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

Salonga said the ship is designed for an optimum speed of 24.5 knots, or more than 45 kph.

“This is considered fast for sea-going commercial vessels,” said Salonga who, aside from being the father of famous stage and movie actress Lea Salonga, now considers himself the proud father, along with HHIC-Phil president Jeong Sup Shim, of PN-001.

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

With the price of $60 million per ship, Salonga said the 16 ships ordered from Hanjin would cost a total of close to $1 billion.

Salonga said since about 40 percent of ship costs is spent on manpower, this means that about $400 million will go to salaries of workers at the Hanjin shipyard.

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

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

“For the Monday morning quarterbacks who have been busily kibitzing about Hanjin’s apartment complex, it is another case of the need to break eggs in order to make omelets,” Salonga said.

Hanjin, which is based in South Korea and now the fourth biggest shipbuilder in the world, is also the biggest investor here in Subic after it put up $1.7 billion for its shipyard project.

It now employs more than 10,000 workers, aside from those hired by its sub contractors.

Hanjin officials said the controversial $20-million apartment complex that the company is building in the Cubi-Triboa district here will be for the use of its Korean employees and their families, as well as some Filipino staff.