Story and Photos by HENRY EMPEÑO

SUBIC BAY FREEPORT — South Korean shipbuilder Hanjin Heavy Industries and Construction-Philippines (HHIC-Phil) marked another milestone here on Thursday by unveiling the CMA CGM Antoine de Saint Exupery, the first 20,600 TEU container vessel built in Subic and one of the biggest ships ever built in the world.

The ship has an overall length of 400 meters, a width of 59 meters, depth of 33 meters, and gross tonnage tipping at 217,673 tons.

With a deck as big as three football fields combined, the CMA CGM Antoine de Saint Exupery is considered one of the biggest ships in the world today, HHIC-Phil officials said during the completion ceremony held at the firm’s Redondo Peninsula shipyard.

The mammoth container vessel, which was named after the French aristocrat and literary icon Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, was built over a period of one and a half years, from Feb. 8, 2016 when the first steel cutting was made, to its launching in Aug. 19 last year.

The CMA CGM Antoine de Saint Exupery is the first of three 20,600-TEU container ships that HHIC-Phil has committed to build for the French container transport and shipping firm CMA CGM.

Two other vessels of the same size and type are in advance stages of shipbuilding at Hanjin’s 326-hectare shipyard here.

The vessel completion ceremony here on Thursday was graced by former President and now Pampanga Representative Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, under whose administration the Hanjin shipyard was launched; Senator Richard Gordon, Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) Chairman Wilma T. Eisma, Zambales Gov. Amjor Deloso, Zambales First District Rep. Jeffrey Khonghun, Pampanga Gov. Lilia Pineda, and Olongapo City Mayor Roeln Paulino.

According to HHIC-Phil President Gwang Suk Chung, the delivery of Antoine de Saint Exupery, represented a breakthrough in global shipbuilding, as the Korean company’s cutting-edge technology complemented by the skills of Filipino workers successfully launched vessels of higher tonnage and value.

Chung also recalled that “the intensive support of the Philippine government in 2007” under then President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo gave the Korean a robust headstart in the shipbuilding industry here.

HHIC-Phil officials said that the firm still has a number of high value commercial vessels on order with their launchings and deliveries spread across 2018 and 2019. These include liquefied petroleum gas carriers, and crude oil carriers, among others.

In January last year, the HHIC-Phil marked another milestone with the delivery of Gener8 Hector, the first Very Large Crude Carrier ever constructed in the Philippines. The vessel was delivered to the US-based crude oil shipping company Gener8 Maritime.

Arroyo, in her speech during last Thursday’s ceremony, cited the $2.3 billion investment by HHIC-Phil in the Subic Bay Freeport, and noted that the Korean firm had also built a massive training facility for local workers.

Meanwhile, SBMA Chairman Wilma Eisma thanked HHIC-Phil on behalf of President Rodrigo Duterte, pointing out that the Hanjin shipyard had played a vital role in national economic growth.

“HHIC-Phil’s presence here in Subic has made our country the fourth largest shipbuilding nation in the world,” Eisma noted, adding that the Korean company “not only poured in investments of US$2.3 billion, but has also exported a total of 113 ocean-going merchant ships.”

“In launching the gigantic and technologically superior vessel today, you have once again underscored your vital role in our country’s maritime industry.  So I expect HHIC Phil to remain a pillar and partner in the growth of the Philippine maritime industry, especially now that our country is experiencing robust economic growth,” Eisma added.

The SBMA official also urged the Korean company to look after the welfare of its workers. “We expect the company to protect and look after the welfare of its workers because they are as integral to your continuing success as your customers. For how else could you have exported that many vessels were it not for their craftsmanship and hard work?” she said.

“Take care of our people and we will take care of you,” she added.