Chinese government commits four years of technical assistance for Hapilmohol-2 passenger and cargo vessel (Linked to Project ID#90070)

On March 11, 2020, the Twenty-First Congress of the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM) approved a resolution (C.R. No. 21-95, C.D. 1, C.D. 2) allocating USD 10 million of funds previously granted by the Chinese Government for the acquisition of a new vessel for the State of Yap. Then, on October 15, 2020, the Micronesian Secretary of Transportation and the Chinese Ambassador to Micronesia, on behalf of their respective governments, signed a contract for the implementation of the Passenger and Cargo Vessel Project. This project would involve the construction of a new 600-tonne class cargo and passenger ship: Hapilmohol-2 (H-2). The grant for the ship itself is captured via Project ID#90070. The October 15, 2020 contract also included a technical assistance component captured via Project ID#94666. The agreement stated that, starting from the second year after the ship’s delivery, upon the conclusion of its one-year warranty period, China would be responsible for dispatching four technicians to the FSM once a year. These technicians would carry out a 14-day technical inspection and maintenance on the ship. This would occur for four consecutive years. Originally, the ship was expected to sail from China to Yap 390 days from the signing of the contract, or around November 15, 2021. However, the handover ceremony of this project did not take place until June 28, 2022. Ambassador Huang Zhen and the Micronesian Minister of Transportation signed the formal handover documents. The ship subsequently was to be handed over by the national government to the Yap State government. Thus, it is expected that the technical team will arrive first on or about June 28, 2023 and will be finished with their contractual obligations on or about July 12, 2026. H-2 is intended primarily to connect the State of Yap and will serve as a replacement for the aging Hapilmohol-1 (H-1), which had previously been granted by the Chinese government in 2007 (captured via Project ID#40029). The ship is expected to increase Micronesia's maritime transport capacity, stimulate the flow of people and goods, better assist the citizens of Yap dispersed throughout the outer islands, and provide nation-wide services as necessary. China and FSM jointly participated in the ship's design. The ship's construction was undertaken by an unspecified Chinese manufacturer. The implementation contract further specified that the ship would have a designed cruising range of no less than 2,500 nautical miles and an endurance of no less than fifteen days.

Additional details

1. Predicted implementation start and end dates are based off the specifications from the October 15, 2020 contract: one year from the ship's actual arrival (i.e. the end of the one year warranty period) is June 28, 2023. The fourth consecutive year of maintenance checks would begin June 28, 2026, counting 2023 as the first year. The end of the 14 day maintenance period, and thus the end of the technical assistance project, would therefore land on July 12, 2026.

Number of official sources

6

Number of total sources

6