Korean Shipbuilders Association News

As persistent high oil prices and the burden of increased regulatory compliance have rendered energy management strategy development crucial for fleet owners worldwide, the shipping industry is on the verge of a new frontier where novel concepts and sophisticated approaches to ship design and performance verification methods emerge. The world’s major ship building nations agree that a combination of a stubborn global recession and high fuel prices which affect global trade and impact newbuilding orders require innovative thinking, creative strategies and investments in R&D to create the foundations for a new generation of shipping infrastructure which will be more resilient to fluctuating heavy fuel prices and more adaptable to alternative forms of energy.

In advance of SMM 2012, the leading trade fair for the maritime industries, to be held at the Hamburg Fair site from September 4-7, the duel in international shipbuilding is going into the next round – the Chinese shipyards were just ahead again in 2011. According to the latest survey by Clarkson Research, China delivered a total of 1,177 ships with 67.2 million DWT. The closest competitor was South Korea, which had 531 ships and 53.6 DWT, followed by Japan, in third position (462 ships, 32 million DWT). The three major shipbuilding nations from Asia are prominent exhibitors at SMM 2012, the shipbuilding, machinery & marine technology international trade fair Hamburg, from September 4-7.

Lloyd's Register’s teams in China and Korea have established a strong position in terms of ships ordered in 2010 which will be built to Lloyd’s Register class. Lloyd’s Register’s share of 2010 orders is, respectively, 29.6% in China and 28.3% in Korea.* While orders are from traditional areas of strength such as Greece, the continued expansion of shipowning in Asia is also driving demand. “It’s been an exciting year,” said Nick Brown, Marine Country Manager, China. “We have made a huge investment in China and have developed innovative services to support Chinese shipbuilders and both Chinese and international owners building in China. We have been listening to yards and owners and providing the services that they need.

The 22nd edition of Posidonia 2010, an international shipping trade event, opens its doors next week on the back of renewed confidence in the state of Greek maritime affairs as outlined in a recent Union of Greek Shipowners (UGS) statement. According to UGS, Greece’s foreign exchange earnings from ocean going shipping services were substantial in 2009 amounting to $16.6b despite a slight decrease compared to the previous year. Continued new-building orders will ensure Greece maintains…

The impact of the current financial crisis topped the agenda at the inaugural Seoul International Maritime and Shipbuilding conference held during the week of Nov. 3. Organized by the Korean Register of Shipping and attended by around 150 leading industry representatives from the owning, building and classification sectors, this event was a forum to debate the current issues facing the industry. Conference keynoter, Lee Jae-Gyoon, vice minister at the ministry of land, transport and maritime affairs, admitted that the current economic downturn had hit harder than forecast but that Korea was well prepared to weather the storm. Mr. Lee…

The European Union is to investigate alleged unfair trade practices by South Korean shipbuilders, a move that could lead to a World Trade Organization (WTO) case, Reuters reported. The move follows a complaint in October by the European shipbuilding industry that accused South Korea of subsidizing its shipyards to unfairly undercut the market. "We have looked carefully at the complaint of our industry and believe there are clear grounds for us to launch this investigation," European Union Trade Commissioner Pascal Lamy said. "We are treating the concerns of EU shipbuilders with the utmost seriousness. If necessary we will take this all the way to the WTO," he said. The Commission -- the EU's executive branch -- will launch a five-month investigation under its Trade Barriers Regulation.

Reports said that exports of Korean ships are expected to exceed $22b this year on the back of more sales of high-value-added vessels including liquefied natural gas carriers. The Korean shipbuilders association says domestic shipyards are likely to export $10.7b worth of vessels in the second half in addition to the $11 billion in the first half of the year. The association believes the industry will see a trade surplus of $19 billion this year, accounting for 70 percent of the country's aggregate trade surplus. Source: Arirang News

The European Union is proposing to subsidize its embattled shipyards in a long-standing dispute over what it views as unfair competition from South Korea. The EU will make the proposal to an EU industrial council meeting in Sweden on May 15, said EU Ambassador to Korea Frank Hesske. Sweden is the current president of the 15-member group. The EU, which has been holding talks with South Korea about the issue for the past two years, could take the case to the World Trade Organisation (WTO), but that could take many years, thus the move for a subsidy program of its own. Hesske said the South Korean government was supporting the Korean shipbuilding industry through debt forgiveness programs by state-controlled banks.