Hanjin launches largest oil tanker ever built in the country

Korean shipbuilder Hanjin Heavy Industries and Construction Co.-Philippines on Friday launched the first and biggest crude oil tanker ever built in the country. The $68-million oil tanker named M/T Leyla K is owned by Turkish shipping company Kaptanoglu, and was one of the 36 remaining vessels ordered by different international shipping companies to be constructed by Hanjin until 2012.
The 114,000-metric-ton M/T Leyla K was named after the daughter of Engin Kaptanoglu, chairman of the Turkish shipping firm.
M/T Leyla K has a length of 250 meters, breadth of 44 meter, gross tonnage of 63,304 tons, and speed of 15 knots.
Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) chairman Feliciano Salonga said the production of the first oil tanker marked a new era for Subic. "Subic Bay Freeport is now in the big league of shipbuilding," he said.
"I won't be surprised if [Hanjin] will start constructing several oil tankers at the same time. Our Filipino workers are getting the hang of shipbuilding, and it won't be long before Filipino shipbuilders will be famous in this industry," Mr. Salonga added.
Hanjin Senior Executive Vice-President Hyun Soo Bong said the launching was a meaningful event for the shipyard, indicating a "good and prosperous" start for 2010.
Mr. Bong said Hanjin has already delivered eight vessels -- one in 2008 and seven vessels last year -- and is expected to complete the construction of a total 36 vessels in the next two years.
The M/T Leyla K will be manned by 21 crew members composed of 18 Filipinos who are mostly graduates of the Philippine Merchant Marine Academy in San Narciso, Zambales.
In July 2008, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo launched MV Argolikos, the first ship to be built in this free port by Hanjin, calling it "a milestone achievement in shipbuilding" and a showcase of excellence for Filipino ship workers.
The $60 million MV Argolikos, which was also the first container ship to be built in the country, was delivered to Dioryx, a Greek shipping firm that had placed the first six orders for ships to be built by Hanjin in Subic.
Five months after, Hanjin delivered its second container ship, the CMA CGM Turquoise. Two more 4,300-TEU (twenty-foot equivalent units) container vessels -- the CMA CGM Opal and the CMA CGM Topaz were launched a month later.
Hanjin's Busan headquarters announced last year that the company had signed for the Subic facility a $2.2-billion order for some of the biggest box ships and Cape-size carriers ever to be built.
These include eight 12,800-TEU container carriers worth $1.27 billion for Germany's NSC Schiffartsgeselhaft; 10 3,600-TEU carriers worth $690 million for France's CMA CGM; and three 175,000-DWT (deadweight ton) capsize bulkers worth $240 million, with two going to India's Adani Group and the other to Turkey's Eregli.