Seoul: Classification society Lloyd's Register today celebrated 250 years of technical service to maritime shipping when Korea's Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) delivered the first vessel of 2010 built to its class. The vessel, a 105,000dwt tonne Aframax tanker named Pichincha, was delivered to Ecuado-based tanker operator Flota Pertrolera Ecuatoriana (FLOPEC). It is the second of two sisterships ordered by FLOPEC from the industry's biggest commercial shipbuilder by volume and was was built to IACS's Common Structural Rules and to the International Maritime Organization's new guidelines for ship recycling known as 'Green Passport'.
"Completing 250 years under the same brand is a rare and admirable achievement. But, for Lloyd's Register, this year will not be about celebrating history," said Luis Benito, country and marine manager, Korea, for LR Asia. "It will be about celebrating our ability to consistently support the development of the technical innovation and expertise that the market requires, often before the market requires it. Market insight and technical expertise have proven to be two of our most enduring products, and we expect that to continue. Because quality clients such as HHI and FLOPEC not only count on our unrivalled experience, they also expect us to provide solutions for the technical and regulatory challenges they will face in the future."
"These ships are the realisation of the strategic plans for fleet growth we drew up five years ago; they will add commercial flexibility and expand our area of operations," said Rear Admiral Aland Molestina, President of the FLOPEC Board and Commander in Chief of the Ecuadorian Navy. "We chose LR for their expert guidance in fields that were new to us: bigger ships and CSR rules. And, as an environmentally conscious company, one of our priorities was to ensure compliance with the environmental requirements of our traditional trading areas, California and US Gulf & East coasts. We began building vessels at HHI more than 20 years ago, some of which are still sailing the world without any drawbacks. The availability of this design and timely building slots gave us confidence we would reach today's milestone, while assuring both quality and safety."
Benito said the fact that this ship was built by Koreans for owners in Ecuador highlighted the extensive global network that allowed the Lloyd's Register Group to consistently provide a comprehensive suite of third-party assurance services to the full energy supply chain.
HHI, which has a global reputation for leading technical innovation, has been building a variety of ships to LR class since 1972. The Pichincha is the 484th ship delivered by HHI to Lloyd's Register class and the yard currently has 44 more ships contracted to LR class on its books. [04/01/10]
Copyright © 2024. All rights reserved. Seatrade, a trading name of Informa Markets (UK) Limited. Add Seatrade Maritime News to your Google News feed.
