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BATANGAS
Bay Carriers Inc. (BBCI), a barging company under the
Magsaysay Transport and Logistics Group, said it has
inked a deal with Keppel Philippines Marine Inc. (KPMI)
for the construction of a double-hull fuel-oil tanker.
The
company said in a statement that it awarded the contract
to Keppel for the construction of its ship called Hull
No. 90, a 1,600-dead weight ton barge classed under the
American Bureau of Shipping.
“The
construction and acquisition of Hull No. 90 is aimed to
support the program of the government for all barges and
tankers carrying black-petroleum products to be of
double-hull construction by April 2008,” the company
said.
The
company declined to say how much it paid for the new
vessel.
Hull No.
90 is scheduled for delivery to the company in February
2009.
The
vessel is designed and capable to load and discharge
black- petroleum products such as crack regular fuel
oil, straight-run fuel oil, special-fuel oil 1100, and
low sulfur-fuel oil.
“To
comply with the safety standards of the oil majors, the
vessel is designed and equipped to prevent oil spills,
overflows and emergency situations with the installation
of carbon-dioxide system, fixed-foam system, oily-water
separator, and high-level alarms,” the company said.
“We
believe in KPMI. KPMI has an established reputation in
the domestic and global markets for being reliable in
shipbuilding and ship-repair projects. We are confident
that our new building will pass the very strict
standards of the international oil majors,” said Roberto
A. Umali, the company’s executive vice president and
chief operating officer.
BBCI
offers tanker barges for the petroleum transport
requirements of major oil players in the country. It
currently has 11 tanker barges, two tugboats, and one
repair barge.
BBCI is
one of the firms formed by Doris Magaysay-Ho in the late
’90s to operate a fleet of tanker barges on long-term
charter agreement with Pilipinas Shell Corp., currently
the country’s second-largest oil player.
This is
the second time in three months that the Magsaysay group
has bought a double-hull vessel in response to the
stricter measure implemented by the oil companies by
next year.
The
Maritime Industry Authority also has a new ruling that
forces all tankers carrying black oil to use double-hull
vessel by next year.
In
October, the company announced that its subsidiary Islas
Tankers Shipping Corp. had signed an agreement with
Shandong Rushan Shipbuilding Co. Ltd. of China for the
construction of a 3,800 DWT double-hull fuel-oil tanker.
The new 94.4-meter vessel, referred to as Hull No. 507,
is currently under construction in Rushankou, Shandong
Province of China. |
