By Katrina Graicia Consebido
French shipbuilding company OCEA S.A. renewed its commitment for a P1.5 billion shipyard expansion in the Philippines after meeting with President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. in Brussels, Belgium on Wednesday, Dec. 14.
According to OCEA, the investment would create 500 to 600 jobs in the Philippines. The boats are for marine, safety, transit, and fishing.
During the 9th Philippine-France Joint Economic Committee (JEC) meeting in July, OCEA offered support for a shipyard project. The commitment was expressed in a letter to the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) about establishing OCEA Shipbuilding Philippines Inc.
The business has identified Mariveles in Bataan, Batangas, Sual in Pangasinan, and Subic as possible shipbuilding sites.
OCEA is negotiating contracts to build vessels for the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) and the Philippine Merchant Marine Academy.
“Our seafarers are very important to us, especially as we start to recover and the training ship is going to be critical for the continuing [training] because I keep hearing now about the new technologies,’ Marcos said.
“And the training ship is very necessary so that they can get the proper credentials from whatever maritime academy they are attending, the potential seafarers. So that is going to be a big help,” he added.
OCEA S.A., the company that built PCG’s BRP Gabriela Silang, is a leader in aluminum shipbuilding. It also offers marine security, passenger transportation, multipurpose, workboats, and luxury motor yachts. -ag
