- June 18, 2015
- News & Events, Press Releases
Harbor Star Shipping to double overseas revenues in 5 years
Tugboat and marine services firm Harbor Star Shipping Services, Inc. is aiming to double the revenue contribution of its overseas operations to 40 percent in five years as it sees limited growth in local ports.
“Well there is some plan to almost double it in the next five years if we can. The target is to be a regional player in the Southeast Asian region,” said Harbor Star President Geronimo P. Bella Jr. at the sidelines of the firm’s stockholders meeting.
He added that “there’s a potential to grow the business overseas. We don’t see any further growth in the Philippines. It’s really in the (other) third world countries like Vietnam, Indonesia. Remember Indonesia has 17,000 islands. It’s an archipelago. So that’s what we’re looking into.”
Harbor Star has already penetrated the Malaysian market, at the port of Eastern Peninsular Malaysia where it is on a trial run. “We started already docking some vessels already. So we’re finalizing the contract since we’re still on a trial run,” said Bella.
He said Harbor Star is also firming up a contract that will allow it to operate in Indonesia where it is looking to service the coal-transporting needs of a state-owned power company.
Bella said the company has already started the operation and, should it bag the contract, Harbor Star will deliver as much as 6 million tons of coal per month to the state-owned power company for a term of 15 years.
This will also require an expansion of their current fleet by as much as 10 additional tugboats and barges with capacity of 8,000 tons at a cost of approximately $10 million.
Bella said Harbor Star already has the commitment of its lender CTBC (China Trust Banking Corporation) for partial funding of the Indonesian venture. The company may also opt to sell new shares if necessary, said Bella.
In the Philippines, Harbor Star has established operations in 13 base ports nationwide, providing services to approximately 5,214 ship calls as end-2014, with major ports serviced include Manila, Bataan, Batangas, Cagayan de Oro, Cebu and Davao.
“The effects of the 2014 port congestion will still be felt as shipping lines calling the Philippines have reduced their scheduled voyages. Nevertheless, we see our harbor assist business to expand as we look to enter other markets such as General Santos, and Cebu. We are also upbeat in finally penetrating oversea markets specifically in Malaysia, Indonesia, and Vietnam,” said Bella.