South Korean Government News

Samsung Heavy Industries (SHI) said on Tuesday it has stopped making blocks and equipment for 10 out of 15 Arctic LNG carriers contracted with Zvezda.Samsung has been delivering blocks and equipment for five of them to Zvezda, the Russian shipyard that is assembling the carriers, after receiving South Korean government approval.Samsung is nearing the end of making the blocks and equipment for the five ships, a Samsung spokesperson said on Tuesday.For the remaining 10 ships, Samsung has stopped making the blocks and equipment, but there has been no cancellation of the contract yet, the spokespe

The South Korean government on Monday called on striking workers at Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (DSME) to end their month-long siege of a dock at the company's biggest shipyard, which has paralyzed production and is delaying delivery of new vessels.Finance Minister Choo Kyung-ho called the occupation "outright illegal" and pledged a "stern response based on law and order."The shipyard near the city of Geoje, off the country's south coast, is one of the world's largest.

South Korean shipbuilder Samsung Heavy Industries is joining the offshore wind industry through the development of an independent offshore wind floater model able to operate in extreme marine environments.The company said Monday it had received Approval in Principle (AiP) for its 9.5-MW large-scale offshore wind floater model, Tri-Star Float from the Norwegian classification society DNV."Removing a pontoon, a steel-frame structure supporting wind generator on the sea, its compact design will help dramatically shortening construction period from design and transportation to installation…

Iran released on Friday a South Korean ship and its captain detained since January after South Korea promised to try to secure the release of Iranian funds frozen in South Korean banks under U.S. sanctions, a South Korean official said.The Iranian foreign ministry said the chemical tanker, Hankuk Chemi, was released after an investigation into environmental pollution, and at the request of the South Korean government and its owner, state news agency IRNA reported.The seizure of the tanker in the Strait of Hormuz off Oman in January had triggered a diplomatic dispute after Iran demanded that South Korea release $7 billion in funds frozen in South Korean banks under U.S.

How will Biden read Iranian hostilities? Forceful diplomacy or reckless militancy?Anticipating the Biden Administration’s Iran strategy is crucial for understanding future risks for maritime operators in the Strait of Hormuz, the Gulf of Oman and wider Indian Ocean.Though the new U.S. Administration and the Iranian regime have stated their willingness to rejoin the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), otherwise known as the Iran Nuclear Deal, they are unlikely to do so.

Iran says it will allow the crew of a Soouth Korean tanker it seized for alleged environmental pollution to leave the country, according to Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh.“Following a request by the South Korean government... the crew of the Korean ship, which was detained on charges of causing environmental pollution in the Persian Gulf, have received the permission to leave the country in a humanitarian move by Iran,” Khatibzadeh told state media on Tuesday.The South Korean-flagged Hankuk Chemi was seized on January 4 by Iran’s Revolutionary Guards near the strategic Strait of Hormuz.Iran, which has been urging South Korea to release some $7 billion of Iranian funds frozen due to U.S.

Japan, South Korea and a fleet of international shipping groups have warned the European Union against its plan to add greenhouse gas emissions from the maritime sector to Europe’s carbon market.As the 27-country EU seeks to steer its economy towards “net zero” emissions by 2050, the executive European Commission wants to expand its carbon market to shipping.Currently, the policy requires power plants, factories and airlines running European flights to buy pollution permits to cover their emissions.The proposal…

THE Alliance, which includes Hapag-Lloyd, Hyundai Merchant Marine (HMM), Ocean Network Express (ONE), and Yang Ming, announced updated details of its 2020 service network, focusing on the Asia-Middle East trade-lane.THE Alliance will introduce three newly organized express loops from early April and the Middle East Service Network (MESN) will provide higher frequency, direct and expanded coverage, and the fastest connection from the respective regions.Hyundai Merchant Marine has become a full member of THE Alliance in January. With the backing from the South Korean government, the company has ordered 12 Korean-built 23,000 TEU Megamax-24 vessels…

South Korea's military said on Tuesday it plans to expand the deployment of an anti-piracy unit now operating off the coast of Africa to the area around the Strait of Hormuz, after the United States pressed for help in guarding oil tankers.Attacks on oil tankers in the Strait of Hormuz off the coast of Iran last year prompted U.S. officials to call for allies to join a planned maritime security mission.While South Korea, a key U.S. ally, will deploy its forces to the area, including the Gulf…

GasLog, an international owner, operator and manager of liquefied natural gas (LNG) carriers, is predicting a tighter LNG shipping market, as increasing United States LNG output combines with a seasonal uptick in demand for gas, resulting in rising demand for shipping and higher utilization of the global fleet.These underlying trends in the LNG commodity and shipping markets point towards a structurally tighter market through 2020 and into 2021.As of October 28, 2019, the LNG fleet and orderbook (excluding floating storage and regasification units (FSRUs) and vessels with capacity below 100,000 cbm) stood at 507 and 110 vessels, respectively…

German shipping service company Global Renewables Shipbrokers (GRS) has announced the start of a strategic partnership with South Korean wind project development consultancy SerFac.The shipbroker for offshore tonnage in renewable energy said that the aim of the cooperation is to provide project development of offshore wind farm projects in South Korea. As an independent advisor, GRS supports the negotiation of all contracts across all value creation stages of the entire project development.At the subsequent installation and operation stage, GRS, as an internationally operating and independent specialist shipbroker, takes on the chartering of all vessels and crews required as well as the contracting of all further offshore service providers.

Iran is running short of options to replace its ageing fleet of tankers and keep oil exports flowing because renewed U.S. sanctions are making potential sellers and flag registries wary of doing business with Tehran, Western and Iranian sources said.Since U.S. President Donald Trump reimposed sanctions in November, exploratory talks with South Korea for up to 10 new supertankers have stalled and Panama has also removed at least 21 Iranian tankers from its registry forcing Tehran to put the vessels under its own flag…

The Stellar Daisy, a massive South Korean tanker that sank in March 2017, was spotted on the floor of the South Atlantic Ocean nearly two years later.Exploration company Ocean Infinity said that it has located the wreck of the lost South Korean tanker, Stellar Daisy, at a depth of 3,461 meters in the South Atlantic Ocean, approximately 1,800 nautical miles due west of Cape Town.Stellar Daisy sank on 31 March 2017, transporting iron ore from Brazil to China. Tragically, 22 of the 24 crew were lost.Working from Seabed Constructor, the search operation involved the deployment of four Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUVs), which, over 72 search hours, explored approximately 1,300 km2 of seabed.

South Korean shipyards have seemingly boxed out rivals from the market for building large ships carrying liquefied natural gas (LNG), winning all of the orders for the next three years worth more than $9 billion.Three South Korean yards - Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (DSME), Hyundai Heavy Industries and Samsung Heavy Industries - have won the more than 50 orders placed for new large-scale LNG tankers for delivery in the next three years, according to data from the…

South Korean midsized shipping company H-Line, owned by local private equity firm Hahn & Co, has ordered two liquefied natural gas (LNG)-powered 180,000 dwt capesizes at Hyundai Samho Heavy Industries (HSHI).A report by Yonhap, quoting the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries sources, said that the LNG-powered 180,000-ton vessels will be used on a route between South Korea and Australia starting from 2021.According to the Ministry, the bulk carriers will be the first LNG ships in South Korea to sail on a foreign shipping route.Hyundai Heavy Industries Co., the world's largest shipbuilder by sales, owns 80.54 percent of Hyundai Samho Heavy.South Korean shipyards have outstanding expertise in building LNG carriers and bunkering shuttles…

A series of presentations organized and presented jointly by Resolve Marine Group and the SNAME - Greek Supper Section was held Wednesday, June 6 at the Posidonia 2018 exhibition in Athens.The two-hour event included a total of four presentations – two from SNAME and two from Resolve  – focused on the issues of direct and prompt response to merchant vessels’ accidents and damages that have shaken the global shipping community over the past three years.The event was attended by…

South Korea’s largest shipping line Hyundai Merchant Marine (HMM) announced it will order 20 new containerships, including eight 14,000 TEU vessels and 12 ships above 20,000 TEU. The announcement comes less than a week after the South Korean government unveiled its Five-year Plan for Rebuilding Korean Shipping. HMM said it has sent a request for proposal (RFP) to eligible shipbuilders. Once a builder is selected, HMM will decide between scrubbers or liquefied natural gas (LNG) bunkering in order to comply with the environmental regulations due to enter force in 2020.

The South Korean government decided to restructure two financially-troubled mid-sized shipbuilders, said a report in Business Korea. While filing for court receivership for the debt-ridden Sungdong Shipbuilding, the government has decided to save STX Offshore and Shipbuilding Co. on condition of slashing 75 percent of its production workforce. The two shipbuilders are heavily indebted to Korea's two state-run banks, as they have struggled with snowballing losses amid unfavorable oil prices and the worldwide industry downturn. According to the report, the government held a ministerial meeting to discuss ways to strengthen the industrial competitiveness and announce its restructuring plans for mid-size shipbuilders.

The Trump administration and key Asian allies are preparing to expand interceptions of ships suspected of violating sanctions on North Korea, a plan that could include deploying U.S. Coast Guard forces to stop and search vessels in Asia-Pacific waters, senior U.S. officials said. Washington has been talking to regional partners, including Japan, South Korea, Australia and Singapore, about coordinating a stepped-up crackdown that would go further than ever before in an attempt to squeeze Pyongyang’s use of seagoing trade to feed its nuclear missile program, several officials told Reuters.

China on Friday denied reports it has been illicitly selling oil products to North Korea after U.S. President Donald Trump said he was not happy that China had allowed oil to reach the isolated nation. Trump said on Twitter the previous day that China had been "caught" allowing oil into North Korea and that would prevent "a friendly solution" to the crisis over North Korea's nuclear and missile programmes that it conducts in defiance of heavy U.N. Security Council sanctions. "I have been soft on China because the only thing more important to me than trade is war…

U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday said he was "very disappointed that China is allowing oil to go into North Korea" and that such moves would prevent "a friendly solution" to the crisis over Pyongyang's nuclear program. "Caught RED HANDED - very disappointed that China is allowing oil to go into North Korea. There will never be a friendly solution to the North Korea problem if this continues to happen!" Trump wrote in a post on Twitter. China earlier on Thursday said there had been no U.N.

U.S. spy satellites have caught Chinese and North Korean ships illegally trading oil on the West Sea 30 times in the last three months, according to South Korean government sources. The reported smuggling comes in the wake of United Nations sanctions banning ship-to-ship trades with North Korea on the high seas since September. But according a report from The Chosun Ilbo, satellites images have since captured more than two dozen illegal transfers and even the names of the ships side by side illegally trading oil.

South Korean yard giant Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering (DSME) ended the third quarter of this year with a profit of KRW 45.7 billion (USD 41 million), compared to a net loss of KRW 284 billion posted a year earlier, Yonhap said. The troubled shipbuilder is significantly better off than last year after a rescue package from the South Korean government in the spring. DSME, which has battled a highly publicised liquidity crunch for the past two years,  posted profit for the third straight quarter from July through September, largely thanks to cost-cutting measures and increased delivery of offshore facilities. The improvement in the bottom line marks the third straight quarter that the shipyard remained in the black.