Chelsea Logistics and Infrastructure Holdings Corp. said Tuesday it signed a shipbuilding agreement with Fukuoka Shipbuilding Co. Ltd. of Japan for the construction of a 123-meter passenger roll-on/roll-off ship.
The passenger ferry ship which can carry 1,085 passengers, 24 buses and 11 trucks, is scheduled for delivery in June 2021.
“Our thrust of improving the shipping and logistics industry, together with Fukuoka’s more than seven decades of shipbuilding expertise, will allow us to accommodate the growing number of passengers in the Visayas and Mindanao regions while employing a significant number of Filipinos onboard,” Chelsea president and chief executive Chryss Alfonsus Damuy said.
“We are certain that we can count on Fukuoka’s leadership and look forward to joining hands with them as we continuously create long-term value for our stakeholders,” Damuy said.
The company earlier signed a strategic agreement with Kumiai Senpaku Co. Ltd. to finance the construction of a new passenger vessel of wholly-owned subsidiary Starlite Ferries Inc.
The holding company of the shipping and logistics arm business segments of the Udenna Group of Companies said the 98-meter passenger ferry with Hull S-1191 would be built by Kegoya Dock Co.Ltd. at its shipyard in Hiroshima, Japan and would be delivered in April 2020.
The S-1191 vessel will be the subject of a 20-year bareboat charter agreement between Kumiai’s subsidiary Southern Pacific Holding Corp. as owner and Starlite Ferries Inc. as charterer.
The agreement comes with an irrevocable obligation for Starlite Ferries to purchase the vessel at the end of the 20-year charter period.
Souther Pacific Holdings Corp. and Starlite Ferries Inc. signed the agreement on May 26 this year.
Chelsea Logistics earlier said it would acquire six additional vessels for $100 million over the next two to three years.
The company currently operates 16 tankers, 22 RoPax, 11 cargo vessels and 14 tugboats through Chelsea Shipping, Starlite Ferries, Trans-Asia Shipping Lines Inc. and Fortis Tugs.
Investor and partner 2Go Group Inc. operates eight RoPax vessels, five cargo vessels and 11 fast craft.