Turkish firm receives 2nd Subic-made oil tanker

Turkish firm receives 2nd Subic-made oil tanker
Written by Henry Empeño / Correspondent
Friday, 12 March 2010 18:59
http://businessmirror.com.ph/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&i...

SUBIC BAY FREE PORT—Turkey-based Kaptanoglu Shipping Group received on Wednesday the second Aframax oil tanker that Hanjin Heavy Industries Corp. Philippines Inc. (HHIC-Philippines) has built in this free port.

Kaptanoglu officials, led by company president Engin Kaptanoglu, named the 114,000-deadweight ton (DWT) crude oil tanker M/T Eser K, after the shipping tycoon’s youngest daughter Eser.

The vessel, reportedly priced at $68 million, was the 12th vessel to be built by Hanjin in this free port after establishing its Redondo Peninsula shipyard in 2006.

Hanjin has also delivered to the Kaptanoglu group in January the first Aframax it built here, the MT Leyla K.

Like its older twin, Eser K is 250 meters long, 44 meters wide, 21.35 meters deep, and weighs 63,304 tons. Powered by a Man-B&W 6S60MC-C main engine, it has a top speed of 15 knots.

According to HHIC-Philippines senior executive vice president Hyun Soo Bong, the two vessels it delivered to Kaptanoglu were the biggest ships ever built in the Philippines.

With a capacity of 114,000 DWT, the two oil tankers are classified as Aframax types—bigger than Panamax vessels (60,000-80,000 DWT), although smaller than Suezmax ships (120,000-200,000 DWT).

“Esser K is the last tanker we built for Kaptanoglu,” Hanjin’s Hyun said. “But I would like to emphasize that this is another beginning for us as we develop sincere relationships and strengthen this partnership between Kaptanoglu and Hanjin-Philippines,” he added.

Hyun also said that with the Aframax projects, Hanjin was “able to prove that we have one of the finest shipyards that is capable of meeting all kinds of customer demands, not only in shape and size, but also in terms of quality and knowledge.”

In the same occasion, lawyer Ramon Agregado, who represented the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA), said the unveiling of Eser K “represents the culmination of a lot of hard work, ingenuity and the application of modern-day technology.”

Agregado added that the series of ship-naming ceremonies undertaken recently at the Hanjin shipyard has made the Subic Bay Free Port community proud for hosting one of the finest shipbuilding facilities in the world.

For his part, Engin Kaptanoglu expressed gratitude to officials of HHIC-Philippines and SBMA for their support.

“I wanted to thank SBMA and Hanjin-Philippines for helping make my dream come true with the birthday of our company’s babies, MT Leyla K and MT Eser K,” the shipping executive said. “And I hope that our friendship will continue with new projects.”

Hanjin has recently shifted to full-scale operation at its Subic shipyard after completing its facility expansion program in mid-2009.

Hanjin started the Eser K project with a steel-cutting ceremony on Dec. 12, 2008, followed by keel-laying on Aug. 3, 2009, and launching on Dec. 30 last year.

The South Korean shipbuilder also said it has bagged contracts for the construction of 36 more vessels that are scheduled for delivery by 2012. These include two 180,000-DWT Capesize bulk carriers for Taiwan.