Shipbuilder Herma Group of Companies is pitching its ship building expertise to the government as part of a strategy to diversify from barges and oil tankers, company officials said.
The group is looking at military designed vessels, Herma Group vice chairman Peter Favila said in an interview with reporters on the sidelines of an oil tanker launching ceremony in Makati City late Wednesday.
"We're looking at how we can diversify and mainly that's what we're looking at," he said.
"The message is we have the capabilities to build such. We're not talking of aircraft carriers, we're talking of patrol boats," Favila said. "Kasi bumibili tayo ng segunda mano... Maybe we can build new ones using Filipino ingenuity."
Herma Group launched and turned over its 16th vessel – M/Tkr Matapat – from Herma Shipyard Inc. to Herma Shipping and Transport Corporation, a company that provides petroleum transport services to the oil industry.
Herma Shipyard builds international standard tankers while Herma Shipping and Transport provides marine services in the Philippines.
Ships for the military
In his speech, Herma Group president and CEO Herminio Esguerra said the latest tanker and the number of vessels made shows the capability of the company to build ships for the Philippine Navy or the Philippine Coast Guard.
"All the ships that the government needs, we can build. [We're] confident because we have done it, as seen in the shipyard all over the world," he said. "But we need support from the government," he added.
Building ships for military use would entail consultations with the government, Favila said. For the moment, there are no talks, he noted.
The group also sees big opportunity in cargo shipping once the ASEAN economic integration is in place starting next year, Favila said.
"Within ASEAN, when we start opening borders, bringing down barriers, we'll be moving goods more extensively," he said.
"If you have your own vessels, you can service the needs of other countries as well," he added.
By 2015, the ASEAN Economic Community sets in motion the creation of a single market and production base for the 10-nation bloc with a free flow of goods, services, skilled labor, investments and capital.
