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SINGAPOREAN shipyard operator Keppel Philippines Marine
Inc. expects its operations to remain strong this year
as the company will tap those vessels that need to be
converted either to follow government regulations or to
be more profitable.
The
company said in a report it will “continue to seize
opportunities in the buoyant shipping industry” and
convert more floating production, storage and offloading
(FPSO) vessels and single-hulled tankers to double hull
or to some other type of ships.
“(Keppel) will play a bigger role in the offshore rig
fabrication business and expand its shipbuilding
portfolio to include specialized vessels. The company…
will aim to secure high value contracts in shipbuilding,
offshore oil rig fabrication, ship repair and
conversion,” it said in a report, although there was no
mention of its revenue targets and capital expenditures
for the year.
An FPSO
vessel is a type of floating tank system used by the
offshore oil and gas industry that can be designed to
take all of the oil or gas produced from a nearby
platform, process it and store it until the oil or gas
can be offloaded onto waiting tankers, or sent through a
pipeline. Unlike a regular vessel that only has about
23 crew members, this type of vessel can employ more
than a hundred people on board.
Keppel
said it is also tapping those tankers that need to be
converted to double hull as the government requirements
on the phaseout of the single hull draws near.
In the
country, authorities are outlawing single-hull tankers,
which include barges, to carry black oil until the end
of the month. The Maritime Industry Authority said it
will also not allow ocean-going tankers carrying black
oil to dock in the country if they still use a
single-hull vessel.
“A
present trend is the conversion of single-hull tanker to
dry bulk carrier. Subic Shipyard is focusing on this
type of conversion which employs the existing technical
competency available in the yard. The high demand for
shipyard capacity allows it to command reasonable
margins on such conversion jobs,” Keppel said in its
report.
It said
its flagship facility in Batangas is expected to be
“very busy” in securing high-value repair jobs from new
clients and loyal customers. It said more fabrication
work for ultra-deepwater semisubmersible oil rigs are in
the pipeline from repeat clients and new customers.
Keppel
Cebu, on the other hand, is expected to secure a higher
workload, but mainly servicing roll-on, roll-off
passenger vessels plying the interisland routes of the
Philippines
and the reefer vessels servicing the Middle East, Korea
and Japan.
“Its
marketing efforts will strive for more foreign vessel
repair works,” it said.
The
company posted an 81-percent increase in its net income
in 2007 to P508.73 million from the previous year’s
P280.51 million.
It
registered consolidated revenue of P3.2 billion in 2007,
higher than the previous year’s P2 billion.
Keppel
Batangas repaired and dry-docked a total of 82 vessels,
compared with 80 in the previous year. The number of
foreign vessels repaired rose to 40 from the previous
28.
Keppel
Cebu was able to repair 77 vessels, 43 of which were for
local firms, for the period, down from 92 recorded in
2006.
“The
jobs secured, however were of higher value, thus
resulting in revenue for the yard of about P104 million,
18 percent higher compared with that of the previous
year,” it said. |
