SubicDock acquires new drydock facility

Subic Drydock Corp. (SubicDock), a company providing ship repair and new building services in this free port, is now ready to take on more customers following its acquisition of another drydocking facility.

SubicDock president Catalino Bondoc, said the firm acquired recently the AFDL-21, a small auxiliary floating dry dock, and has installed it at Subic’s Bravo Pier alongside the AFDM-5, a medium auxiliary floating dry dock, that the firm brought here last year.

The SFDL-21, which has a length of 200 feet and a beam of 64 feet, has a lifting capacity of 1,000 tons, while the bigger AFDM-5, which has an overall length of 622 feet and an extreme beam of 124 feet, can lift vessels up to 18,000 tons.

“With these two dry docks, we are now able to serve a wider range of vessels and aim to be one of the leaders in the Philippine ship repair industry,” Bondoc said during a familiarization tour for shipping agents and prospective clients.

“Our company vision,” Bondoc added, “is to be a world-class provider of ship repair, overhauling, installation, fabrication, and port general services.”

SubicDock brought the AFDM-5 to its former home in Subic last year after it served at the Guam Shipyard since 1992, when the US Navy towed the dry dock to Guam as it pulled out from the former Subic Naval Base.

The AFDL-21, meanwhile, was transferred to the Philippine Navy in 1961, but was sold to Malayan Towage and Salvage Corp. in March 1990.

Since its operation here in October last year, SubicDock has been attracting a growing list of customers, including vessels owned by the US Navy, the North Korean fishing fleet, and Austel Shipping, an Australian firm operating high speed ferries.

The firm had since received a 2001 certification of compliance from the RINA Society (Registro Italiano Novale) of Italy, Bondoc added.

Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) chairman Feliciano Salonga, who attended the recent briefing, said SubicDock’s ship repair facilities boost Subic’s bid to become a major international maritime center.

“We’ve got it all here,” Salonga said. “Subic has a deep, natural harbor for ships, tax-free environment for business, and skilled but comparatively cheap manpower.”

Bondoc said SubicDock is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Cabras Marine Corp., a US-based maritime services organization with over 30 years experience in providing tugboat, salvage, pilotage and waterfront services for the US Navy and commercial ocean-going vessels in Guam and Micronesia.

By Ric Sapnu (The Philippine Star) Updated March 31, 2008