CEBU CITY -- Despite the tough competition in the global market, a shipbuilder based in Balamban, Cebu, continues to win contracts over rival shipyards in other countries.
A joint venture between Aboitiz and Co. and the FBMA of Hong Kong Parkview group,
FBMA Marine Inc. is making a name for itself in building fast aluminum vessels for local and foreign markets.
Started in 1997, FBMA has since made high- and medium-speed ferries, patrol vessels and specialist work boats.
The company first constructed a 50-knot, 45-meter Tricat (tri-hulled catamaran) for TurboJet of Hong Kong-based Shun Tak-China Travel Ship Management Ltd., now plying the Hong Kong-Macau route.
The other vessels it built include a 52-meter fast catamaran for Korean firm Dae-a, a 70-meter roll on-roll off passengers (Ropax) vessel named Pentalina for Scottish ferry company Pentland Ferries, a 52-meter Ropax named Sea Scape I for Sea SA of South Australia, a 64-meter Ropax named Vlieland for Rederij Doeksen of Holland, an offshore crew vessel named Lider for Lockheed Martin and a patrol vessel for Smit International of Scotland for use in UK Ministry of Defense training.
The company is also building two high-speed passenger catamaran for Wightlink, Portsmouth United Kingdom.
FBMA won the contract for the two vessels earlier this year following an international tender.
The new catamarans, designed by BMT Nigel Gee, have been configured to optimize both sea keeping and fuel efficiency on the busy Portsmouth-Ryde commuter route. The vessels have a single deck with 260 seats and double width boarding access doors to enable rapid embarkation and disembarkation, among others.
Craig Patrick of FBMA had noted that the company won the contract amid strong competition from the world’s traditional catamaran builders.
Patrick said the company was able to close the deal because of the company’s cost-effectiveness and technical ability to meet the stringent UK and MCA regulations.
Roberto E. Aboitiz, FBMA chair and chief executive officer, says it is fortunate that the company has been able to keep up with the competition amid the challenges.
FBMA launched recently Bettico II, a high-speed car and passenger catamaran for Sudiles, a ferry operator based in New Caledonia. The company edged out an Australian shipbuilding firm when it won the Sudiles contract.
Philippe Gomes, president of the Southern Province, New Caledonia, says the company chose FBMA after careful deliberation as it has to spend $22 million for the catamaran.
FBMA had to meet several requirements to get the contract, Gomes says.
He notes that as New Caledonia is a French territory, FBMA has to meet the stringent requirements of France’s Department of Maritime Affairs.
A DMA executive went to the FBMA shipyard to inspect the facilities and the ongoing construction of the Bettina II, Gomes says.
The DMA executive told Gomes and Loyalty Island province president Neko Hnepeune that the FBMA met the strict standards of the DMA.
Hnepeune explains that eight shipyards from all over the world submitted their tenders for the construction of a catamaran but only two, FBMA and an Australian company, met their requirements.
FBMA president and chief operating officer Douglas Border admits that the Betico II was quite a challenge for the company.
Aside from meeting French maritime regulations, Border says Sudiles also wanted a strong vessel that could provide a comfortable ride.
He says the company has been able to meet these requirements, which proved its worth to be called a world-class shipbuilder.
To maintain its competitiveness, FBMA has to come up with a strategy that would address several concerns.
One of the most major concerns involved the availability of skilled workers.
Aboitiz says this is why FBMA has in place a training program that provides the needed skills to would-be workers.
He recalls that in 2004, the company lost many of its skilled workers to a shipbuilding firm based in Australia, which had contracted a Manila-based agency to do the hiring.
While FBMA would not force their workers to stay, Aboitiz says the hiring was done in an unethical manner.
The agency waylaid workers coming out of the company gates and enticed them to work in Australia for a much higher pay, Aboitiz says.
That year, the company lost over 100 workers that it has to come up with a recruitment strategy that would address the exodus of workers.
Aboitiz says the company had to tie up with Don Bosco Technical School to fast-track training of skilled workers to address the exodus of workers.
The company now has its own training center offering free training for those with basic skills needed for shipbuilding such as welding.
In return, the trainees would commit to work for the company for a specified length of service.
Aboitiz says that with a steady supply of good workers, he is optimistic that the company would continue to overcome challenges and remain a global player in the shipbuilding industry.
