Chelsea Logistics Holdings Corp. said it signed a deal with Japan’s Kegoya Dock Co. Ltd. for the construction of one brand new passenger ship with an option for additional three units.
Chelsea president and chief executive Chryss Alfonsus Damuy said in a disclosure to the stock exchange the deal involved the delivery of ships in 2019 to 2020 in line with the company’s thrust to become country’s leading shipping and logistics company.
“Shipping and logistics business is a long term business as it takes two years to three years to acquire new ships. However, once these new vessels are put into operation, they will deliver better cash flows for the company as the brand new ships have very minimal downtime and very low maintenance costs,” Damuy said.
He said the acquisition of new vessels would speed up the company’s fleet expansion as it promised during the initial public offering in August last year.
“The newly acquired vessels and tugs, and the ‘newly-built’ vessels which are soon to be delivered, will bring Chelsea Logistics another step closer to fulfilling its commitment to growth in order to realize more value for our stakeholders, from the investors to the consumers,” Damuy said.
The shipping and logistics firm owned by businessman Dennis Uy made four significant acquisitions last year.
Chleleas’s subsidiary Trans-Asia Shipping Lines Inc. acquired a cargo vessel named “MV Orient Spirit” which can handle 700 twenty-foot equivalent units. Trans-Asia will be operating the vessel by the first quarter 2018.
Chlesea through wholly-owned subsidiary PNX-Chelsea Shipping also bought three vessels in 2017. The acquisitions will further boost the profitability of the company as these vessels are already in commercial operation.
Fortis Tugs Corp., one of the companies under the Chelsea Shipping Group, acquired new tugboats which that are expected to arrive in the first quarter of 2018.
Meanwhile, Chelsea acquired Starlite Ferries Inc., a passenger-cargo operator based in Batangas, which has 14 vessels, including five brand new passenger vessels.
Chelsea currently has a fleet of 15 tankers, eight tugboats, 21 roll-on/roll-off and passenger vessels and four cargo ships.