A French shipbuilding firm has renewed its commitment to pursue a P1.5-billion shipyard development in the Philippines.
Malacañang said shipbuilding firm OCEA S.A. made the pledge during a meeting with President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. in Brussels, Belgium on Wednesday, Dec. 14.
According to OCEA, the planned investment will create 500 to 600 direct and indirect jobs in the Philippines, as it eyes to build 15 to 120-meter boats for several markets intended for maritime safety and security, transportation and fisheries.
OCEA initially made the investment pledge for a shipyard project in the Philippines during the 9th Philippine-France Joint Economic Committee (JEC) meeting held in July last year.
The commitment was supported by the company’s letter of intent sent to the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) regarding the creation of OCEA Shipbuilding Philippines Inc.
The French firm also has ongoing discussions with potential associates and partners in the Philippines.
The company has so far identified several locations for the planned shipyard, including Mariveles, Bataan; Batangas; Sual, Pangasinan; and Subic.
Currently, OCEA has new contracts under negotiation to build vessels for the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) and the Philippine Merchant Marine Academy (PMMA).
Marcos thanked the company for its commitment as he expressed hope that it could contribute in the training of potential Filipino seafarers.
“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 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," the President pointed out.
OCEA S.A., the builder of PCG’s BRP Gabriela Silang, is today’s French leader in aluminium shipbuilding, specializing in the design, building and support of aluminium vessels.