State agencies forcedto ship with RP-flag vessels
THE Maritime Industry Authority (Marina) will soon require
all major government importing agencies to use Philippine-flagged
vessels to help the latter carry more international cargoes.
Included in the directive are the National Food Authority (NFA)
which imports rice, the Philippine National Oil Co, importer of oil;
National Power Corp, coal; and Philippine International Trading Corp
(PITC), steel.
Marina administrator Vicente Suazo, Jr said the move is in line with
Presidential Decree No. 1466 which promotes the which use of Philippine-flagged
ships under certain exemptions.
The government is also working toward a bulk procurement scheme for shipbuilding
and ship repair materials such as ABS grade steel plates, marine engines, and
generating sets.
The PITC will consolidate the import requirements of shipyards and suppliers
and negotiate for whole sale prices on a ship load basis.
The bulk procurement scheme entails considerable reduction in acquisition
cost of shipbuilding and ship repair materials and parts which would lead
to further reduction in the cost of local ship construction. It will help
ensure steady supply and immediate availability of critical materials and
parts, and eliminate delays experienced in shipbuilding and ship repair
projects while waiting for the arrival and clearance of imported parts
and materials.
In addition, the scheme will enhance delivery time for shipbuilding
projects and reduce the period for drydocking/repair.
From 2000 to 2005, Marina said international-going Philippine-flagged
vessels carried only 2.14% of the country's total imports and 2.45% of exports.
While their share in the carriage of government trade grew 58% (imports) and 96%
(export) from 2006 to 2007, Philippine-flagged vessels' overall growth remains
insignificant in the context of what foreign-flagged vessels carry.
Marina said the preference for foreign-flagged vessels in the carriage
of government trade has negatively affected the country's fleet structure.
It has also affected the number of vessels getting special permits to carry
such cargoes.
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Herma Shipyard to sink in P100M for capacity expansion
HERMA Shipyard, a subsidiary of the Herma Group, is
injecting at least P100 million this year to expand
the capacity of its Mariveles, Bataan yard.
The amount will be used to acquire a larger pier and install
cranes to accommodate larger vessels. For now, Herma Shipyard
can only accommodate vessels with up to 6,000 deadweight tons.
Herma Group chair Herminio Esguerra said the company is intent on
penetrating the international market, banking on spillovers from
large shipyards in Japan and Korea instead of competing with
established yards.
The focus will be on 17,000- to 22,000-deadweight ton ships,
the capacity which the shipyard can only accommodate for now.
"After successfully building the first Filipino-built, internationally-classed
tanker Matikas, I think we can get international players to consider us for
their newbuildings in the future," Esguerra added.
"We already received inquiries to build containerships, tankers and other
kind of ships from Europe and Korea which we can accommodate once we finish
converting or replacing our own vessels from our tankering business to double
hull," he said.
The shipyard is currently building four double-hull, double-bottom tankers
with capacities ranging from 14,000 liters to 44,000 liters for sister firm
Herma Shipping and Transport Corp.
Two of the tankers will be chartered by Chevron, one of which will be
launched in November and the other by next year. Another will be for Total
and yet another for the Philippine Shipping and Transport Corp which will
be launched by 2010.
Herma is also converting at least nine tanker-barges, also for its sister firm,
to double-hull tankers. The barges serve the Pandacan oil depot and will be
completed before yearend.
The Herma Shipyard was established in early 2000 initially to provide
dedicated shipbuilding and maintenance services to the group's growing
fleet. Herma Shipyard operates from the 17-hectare yard in Mariveles
formerly known as Baseco.
Herma Shipyard achieved ISO 9000 certification in 2003.
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Customs hot on oil import payments
THE Bureau of Customs (BOC) expects to generate an additional
P2.5 billion following a review of payments of excise taxes for
oil imports beginning 2005.
Deputy Customs Commissioner Celso Templo, stepping in for Customs
commissioner Napoleon Morales who was at the 17th Meeting of the
Asean Director Generals of Customs in Vientianne, Laos last week,
said his team will also check claims for exemption to excise tax
payments made by oil importers.
Templo said the exemptions are equivalent to P4.50 per liter of oil.
"I have observed that no particular office is strictly monitoring
(payment of excise taxes and claims for exemption), so I have ordered
my men to concentrate on this," he said.
Templo, who is the chief of the bureau's Intelligence and Enforcement
Group, will represent the country in a meeting of enforcement chiefs
in Taipei from August 1-3, 2008 to speak on the country's enforcement
efforts against illicit trade.
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Keppel focuses on shiprepair business, sees expansion
KEPPEL Philippines Marine, Inc. (KPMI), the country's largest local
shipyard operator, is expanding operations in the next few years to
accommodate increasing demand for repairs and newbuildings in the
international market.
"This year, we expect to maintain our performance, if not do better,
as our three shipyards will continue to pursue specialized high-value
contracts in shiprepair, conversion, shipbuilding and offshore rig fabrication,
and seek out new business opportunities while maximizing the utilization of
resources," KPMI chair Yeo Chien Sheng Nelson said at the sidelines of the
company's stockholders meeting last week.
KPMI operates shipyards in Batangas, Cebu and Subic.
While expansion plans particularly in Subic are already on standby,
Yeo said KPMI's focus this year will continue to be the international
shiprepair business.
"We expect the industry to remain strong despite the current global
economic slowdown," he explained. "We also expect to get good business
from our rig fabrication facilities."
Last year, the Batangas shipyard recorded total sales revenue of P2.20
billion, 61% more than the P1.37 billion posted in 2006 mainly from the
international shiprepair business.
This year, Batangas is expected to secure higher-value repair jobs
with more vessels coming in for drydocking and higher demand for
conversion or building of double-hull tankers.
KPMI also eyes more fabrication work in Batangas for ultra-deepwater
semi-submersible oil rigs in cooperation with Keppel FELS.
The international shiprepair business also powered sales for Keppel's
Cebu shipyard. Revenues were up 85% to P1.08 billion in 2007 from a year earlier.
Just like Batangas, KPMI expects Keppel Cebu to enjoy a high workload this year
as it strengthens its shipbuilding program with the construction of additional
tugboats for the international market.
For 2008, Subic is again expected to do well. Some customers from Japan and
Taiwan have already made advance bookings for docking space, Yeo said.
Subic shipyard and engineering, meanwhile, posted total revenues of P1.86
billion or 70% higher than P1.09 billion last year due to shiprepair demand
for containerships and Panamax and cape-size bulk carriers.
For the first three months of the year, KPMI turned in a net
profit of P135.13 million, up 60% from P84.64 million a year earlier.
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PPA income up 12.38% in Q1
FIRST-QUARTER revenues of the Philippine Ports Authority
(PPA) grew despite foreign exchange fluctuations that
negatively affected earnings on dollar-denominated tariffs.
For the period in review, the agency posted a 12.38%
increase in net income to P663.90 million from P590.76 million.
Port revenues of P1.46 billion were 7.14% more than the year-ago figure of P1.36 billion.
The PPA attributed the increase mostly to the growth in traffic volume,
which generated additional revenues of P112.22 million, and the impact of
the tariff rate adjustment, which added P28.22 million to the agency coffers.
Against the target of P1.40 billion, port revenues were 4% higher. Except
for Northern Mindanao, where port traffic volume declined, all port district
offices managed to exceed their revenue targets for the period.
Fund Management Income (FMI) went down P21 million or 50.16% to P20.87
million from last year's P41.87 million due mainly to a decline in
interest income yield and lower investible fund during the period.
The FMI figure is 3% off the P21.52-million target.
Total expenses for the first quarter inched up 0.39% to P817.20
million from P814.04 million last year. Actual expenditures for
the period were 8.82% lower than the goal of P79.04 million.
While operating expenses which amounted to P729.38 million were
2.15% lower than last year's P745.38 million due to decreases in
repairs and maintenance, depreciation and depletion and personal
expenses, non-operating expenses, which consist mainly of interest
charges on foreign loans and other non-operating charges, increased
almost 28% from P68.66 million to P87.82 million.
Interna-tional Container Terminal Services, Inc (ICTSI) remained
the major contributor to PPA's port revenues, helping counter-balance
negative effects of foreign exchange fluctuations. In March alone, ICTSI
remitted P540 million to the PPA, 3.02% higher than last year's.
Wharfage and arrastre and stevedoring, the other top two port revenue
sources, brought in P319.48 million and P262.07 million, respectively.
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J-PAC renews ISO certification
J-PAC Logistics, Inc recently obtained renewal of its International
Organization for Standardization (ISO) 9001:2000 certification for
quality management systems.
The company first attained the global accreditation in 2005.
The renewal certification is valid for another three years.
The ISO certificate attests that J-PAC has established and
applied a quality management system (QMS) for its freight
forwarding, customs brokerage and other logistics services.
J-PAC president Ramon de Leon attributes the successful ISO
renewal to efforts of the QMS team led by Arlene Granada and
Mich Mateo as well as to the other officers and employees of
the company.
The renewal also assures that J-PAC will continually provide
efficient and reliable logistics services to its customers,
the company said.
J-PAC, in its ninth year of existence, offers the full range
of logistics services, and is particularly strong in project
cargo and customs brokerage. Its main office is in Makati City
with satellite offices in Cebu, Cagayan de Oro, Laguna and in the
Clark Freeport Zone, where it operates a 2,000-square meter warehouse.
TUV lead auditor Eunice Diamante awards the
ISO certificate to J-PAC president Ramon de Leon. Standing at
the back (L-R): Michelle Mateo - ISO Document Controller, Emi
de Guzman - Business Development Manager, Joey Banday - Director,
Joseph Villanueva - Director for Sales and Operations, Peter
Fernandez - Director for Finance and Administration and Arlene
Granada - ISO Quality Management Representative.
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