Petrolift Inc. was incorporated in the Philippines on May
15, 1992 to serve a growing demand in the domestic
petroleum tankering industry, i.e., the need for newer and
internationally classed petroleum tankers. It was a need
brought about by the growing concern for the environment,
coupled with the aging fleet of domestic tankers.
The Company’s principals are the Leonio Family who have
been in marine related businesses (deep-sea fishing,
shipyard operations, shipping, ports and terminals) for four
generations. The company believes that its continuing
success can be attributed to the effective turn-over of
management to the next generation enabling the company
to attain its objectives and sustain its growth.
Petrolift pioneered the transformation and modernization
of the domestic tankering industry when it introduced in
1993 the country’s first locally-built internationally classed
tanker-barge, which earned the “Maltese Cross” rating
from the American Bureau of Shipping (ABS), one of the
world's leading ship classification societies and a member
of the International Association of Classification Societies
(IACS). The “Maltese Cross” rating is the highest class
distinction for vessel construction. This was immediately
followed by the delivery of another newly-built ABS-classed
tanker-barge, which also earned the Maltese Cross
notation. Both vessels were chartered by one of the major
oil companies in the Philippines, Caltex Phils., Inc. (now
Chevron) under long-term contracts.
The introduction of these internationally-classed vessels to
the domestic tankering industry gave Petrolift the first
mover advantage, and since then, the Company has
consistently been a leader in complying and applying
world-class standards.
Over the years, Petrolift Inc. and its subsidiaries have earned
the distinction of:
• Being the first in securing International Safety
Management Code (ISM) certification for oil tankers
from ABS
• Owning and operating the only type 2 PG, ocean-going,
IACS-classed LPG tanker in the domestic fleet
• Owning and operating the largest fleet of brand-new,
ocean-going, IACS-classed double-hull tankers
In 2007, the shareholders of the Company decided to
consolidate ownership by integrating Transoil Corp.,
Seatrans Corp. and Translift Ship Management, Inc. into
Petrolift Inc. as wholly-owned subsidiaries.
