Yoo News

A South Korean businessman wanted for nine years by authorities was extradited from the United States last Friday to face charges linked to one of the country's worst maritime disasters in which over 300 people, mostly children, were killed.Yoo Hyuk-kee was taken into custody on arrival from New York, where he had been fighting extradition to South Korea, where he faces embezzlement charges related to the company that operated the doomed vessel. Last year, the U.S. Supreme Court rejected his bid to block the extradition.Yoo…

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor on Thursday rejected a bid by a businessman to block his extradition to South Korea to face embezzlement charges that stemmed from a 2014 ferry sinking that killed 304 people.Sotomayor rejected Yoo Hyuk-Kee’s request to prevent his extradition from going forward while he appeals lower-court rulings rejecting his effort to avoid being sent to South Korea to face trial on the seven embezzlement charges against him.Sotomayor is the justice assigned to review emergency appeals from a group of states that include New York…

Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering (KSOE) and its subsidiary Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) have received an approval in principle (AIP) from DNV for their newly developed waste heat-derived liquefied natural gas (LNG) fuel supply system Hi-eGAS (Hyundai High Efficient Gas Supply System) for 300K very large crude carriers (VLCC).Currently, LNG fuel propulsion ships have used boilers to make hot steam, which has converted LNG into a gas at room temperature to supply a ship’s engine.

Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering (KSOE) expects to have the technology to transport hydrogen by ship by 2025, an executive said, targeting a breakthrough in supplying a fuel touted by supporters as offering a major source of clean energy.The development by KSOE, the shipbuilding arm of Hyundai Heavy Industries Group, one of the world's biggest shipbuilders, comes amid growing global interest in rolling out hydrogen as a cleaner fuel alternative. Vessel makers worldwide are looking at ways to transport the gas…

Hyundai Heavy Industries' shares closed 86% above their initial public offering (IPO) price on their trading debut in South Korea on Friday.The shipbuilder, one of the largest in the world, raised $935 million from its IPO, with much of the proceeds set to fund investments in new technology.A total of 1,633 domestic and foreign institutional investors placed bids to acquire shares earlier this month, valuing total bids at 1,130 trillion won ($962.3 billion), according to Hyundai Heavy.The institutional book for the IPO had been 1,836 times covered - the second-largest for an IPO in South Korea

A team of maritime industry partners has set out to develop new liquefied CO2 carrier designs as carbon capture and storage (CCS) projects advance globally in support of net negative ambitions.“CCS has the potential to make a significant contribution to global emissions reduction strategies and safe and efficient transport of liquefied carbon is going to be key to realizing these goals," said Patrick Janssens, vice president for global gas at ABS, which has embarked on a joint development project (JDP) alongside Hyundai Mipo Dockyard Co., Ltd.

North Korea said on Tuesday the seizure of one of its cargo ships by the United States was an illegal act that violated the spirit of a summit between the two countries' leaders, and demanded the return of the vessel without delay.The North's foreign ministry said in a statement that it rejected U.N. Security Council resolutions against it which the United States cited in impounding the vessel, as a violation of its sovereignty."The United States committed an unlawful and outrageous act of dispossessing our cargo ship," an unnamed ministry spokesman said in a statement carried by the North's official KCNA news agency."The latest U.S.

Chang Keun Yoo, president and CEO of South Korea container line Hyundai Merchant Marine (HMM)  has decided to resign from his position next month.Chang-Keun Yoo has been Chief Executive Officer and President of Hyundai Merchant Marine Co. Ltd since April 02, 2013 and serves as its Chairman of the Board. Yoo served as an Executive Vice President of Hyundai Merchant Marine Co. Ltd., and Head of HMM Europe Ltd.According to a report in WSJ, he has offered to resign after months of being under pressure from its top creditor to quit over failures in its turnaround. His successor has yet to be announced.Yoo thanked staff for support and requested them “to join forces with an incoming CEO and make a new leap forward for history” in the emailed farewell message…

South Korean carrier  Hyundai Merchant Marine (HMM) announced that it has acquired joint ownership of PSA Hyundai Pusan New-port Terminal (PHPNT) in Busan.Yuanta HPNT, a company jointly established by the shipping liner and Singaporean shipping company PSA, signed a contract to purchase Waska, which holds a 50-percent stake in the terminal at a a ceremony attended by Young-Choon Kim (Minister of Oceans and Fisheries). With the acquisition, HMM regains operational control over the terminal."This sales contract includes that the private equity fund, Yuanta-HPNT will acquire stakes of Waska Inc. which holds 50% stakes of PHPNT," said a…

South Korean container line Hyundai Merchant Marine (HMM) has named its new very large crude carrier (VLCC) at the Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (DSME).The 300,000 dwt vessel was named the Universal Leader during the ceremony held at DSME’s Okpo shipyard in Geoje on January 29, 2019.About 100 distinguished guests attended the ceremony including C.K. Yoo (President & CEO of HMM), Ho Seon Hwang (President of Korea Ocean Business Corporation(KOBC)), and Sung Leep Jung (President & CEO of DSME).Additionally, Mrs. Jang Mi No, Mr. Hwang’s wife, took on the role as godmother who cut the ropes to officially name the ship during the ceremony.

South Korea's shipbuilder Samsung Heavy Industries has applied a solvent-free coating on its liquefied natural gas (LNG) carrier, saying it is the first case of a commercial ship applying such an eco-friendly paint.According to the company, it has successfully applied the solvent-free coating, which it jointly developed with Norwegian paint firm Jotun, to its 7,500 cubic-meter LNG carrier. A solvent is a chemical additive used to reduce the viscosity of paints for better application.Backed by the fact that there is virtually no solvent, a type of volatile organic compound, the solvent-free coating is eco-friendly paint which is safe from fire and explosion hazards and harmless to humans.

The South Korean container carrier Hyundai Merchant Marine (HMM) has chalked out an ambitious blueprint for expansion.The ocean carrier's CEO C.K. Yoo presented HMM’s target of building up its capacity to 100 million TEUs and posting USD 10 billion in annual revenue by 2022, during an employees  gathering at HMM HQ in the Seoul office.HMM recently ordered twelve 23,000 TEU and eight 15,000 TEU eco-friendly mega vessels in preparation for the IMO’s sulfur regulations starting from 2022, and to secure competitiveness through economies of scale.The newly ordered mega vessels are expected to deliver from 2020 in sequential order.In addition…

With India’s high economic growth and the improvement of container market, Hyundai Merchant Marine (HMM) has been aggressively expanding its sales activities within the region. HMM currently operates seven services and ten vessels between Asia-India, and its export volume from India last year increased almost 70% year-over-year. With the continuous growth of Indian market, HMM – as Korea’s first shipping carrier – has established India’s local subsidiary company in 2005 and has elevated its status as a ‘subsidiary’ to ‘Headquarter’ last September. HMM held its invitational event for its VVIPs in Mumbai, India recently. It was held to further enhance the communication between its valued customers, the event took place at St.

South Korea's Hyundai Merchant Marine (HMM) announced that it launches new Asia-North Europe Express (AEX) service in April. HMM opens a new Asia-North Europe loop in accordance with the increased demand for Express Service. AEX is an independent service operated by HMM outside of the strategic cooperation with 2M. In the meantime, HMM has utilized 2M’s vessel space in Europe trade. Last year, HMM’s handling volume dramatically increased to 4.03 million teu, up more than 30% y.o.y mainly in Asia, US and Europe trades. HMM will deploy ten Panamax (4,600 teu) vessels in AEX service and its first sailing begins on April 8th. Port rotation of the new service is Pusan, Shanghai, Ningbo, Kaohsiung, Shenzhen, Singapore, Colombo, Rotterdam, Hamburg, Southampton, Singapore, Hong Kong, and Pusan.

OK. Full disclosure. We spent more than ‘five minutes’ on the phone with Chia Yoo Soon, General Manager, Finished Lubricants – Marine, Chevron Marine Lubricants. But given that we are based in New York and he is based in Singapore, the time difference mandated an efficient conversation for both. Without overstating the obvious, ship owners are under tremendous pressures. A relentless regulatory hammer continues to pound out new and ever stricter environmental and emission rules, while at the same time many sectors are in the midst of a historic and prolonged slump.

South Korean shipping company Hyundai Merchant Marine (HMM) has signed a long-term crude oil shipping contract with compatriot oil refiner GS Caltex. A press release from HMM said that the KRW190 billion (USD 180 million) contract will involve the transportation of 19 million tonnes of crude oil from Saudi Arabia and the Gulf from July 2019 to August 2024. Accordingly, HMM plans to deploy two 300,000 dwt Very Large Crude Carriers (VLCC) which were previously ordered last September. C.K. Meanwhile, HMM has continued its partnership with GS Caltex over 20 years in crude oil shipping business.

South Korean shipbuilding giant Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) has won a design contract worth about $500 million for a liquefaction unit to be used for Steelhead LNG’s Kwispaa LNG export project in Canada’s British Columbia, reported Yonhap. Hyundai Heavy will conduct a front-end engineering design (FEED) for the hull of the At-Shore LNG (ASLNG) and build the LNG liquefaction facility for Steelhead LNG Corp., the company said in a statement. The ASLNG facility, scheduled to begin operations in 2024 on the coast of Vancouver, will transform natural gas sent through underground pipelines into 6 million tons of liquefied forms of gas per year. The liquefied gas will be shipped by gas carrier to buyer countries, a company spokesman said.

South Korea's Hyundai Merchant Marine (HMM) has  held a “2018 Sales Strategy Meeting” to prepare sales strategies for the next year. At the meeting being held on 18-22 December 2017, approximately 150 people attended including HMM President & CEO C.K. YOO, and 50 HMM expatriates in US, EU, and Asia etc, and discussed each unit’s sales strategy and a detailed promotion plan for 2018. C.K. Moreover,  Yoo also commented about a new shipbuilding plan to order 22,000TEU that “This will be the mega-ship building project in accordance with the national expectation for being a leading shipping nation. In this meeting, HMM will focus on finding ways of strengthening manpower through professional education, and achieving innovative growth through Blockchain technology.

Chevron Marine Lubricants received a No Objection Letter (NOL) from Winterthur Gas & Diesel (WinGD) for the use of its Taro Special HT 100 cylinder lubrication oil in a number of the manufacturer’s engines when operating on a wide variety of fuels from 0.0% to 3.5% sulphur, including fuels compliant with emissions control area (ECA) regulations with a maximum content of 0.10% sulphur, eliminating the need to change cylinder lubricants when operating in and out of ECAs. This follows 2,000 hours of validation testing on-board a Panamax containership fitted with a Wärtsilä 8RT-flex82T engine. The NOL applies to the use of Taro Special HT 100 in WinGD X…

Hyundai Merchant Marine (HMM) announced that it has signed a formal contract with Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (DSME) for construction of five 300,000 dwt Very Large Crude Carriers (VLCC) with an option of five more vessels. HMM’s letter of intent with DSME for five VLCCs (+5 option) was singed back in April 2017. Under the agreement, DSME will build five VLCCs for HMM worth approx. KRW 470 billion (USD 420 million) that will be financed by the New Shipbuilding Program. As current market prices for new VLCCs have fell to the lowest level since 2003, HMM considered this year is the right time to order new VLCCs to take a proactive action towards market change. The VLCCs are set for sequential delivery in the 1st half of 2019. C.K.

On June 29, Vice Minister of Transport in Vietnam, Nguyen Van Cong accompanied by delegates from Vietnam Maritime Administration (VMA) and Vietnam National Shipping Lines (Vinalines) visited Hyundai Merchant Marine(HMM).   The delegates arrived Korea on 26th at the invitation of Busan Port Authority (BPA).    HMM CEO, Yoo Chang-Keun and executives have attended the meeting, discussing various cooperative methods for port business in Vietnam.   The Vietnamese delegation was in Korea to attend Korea Maritime Week.

South Korea's largest deep sea carrier Hyundai Merchant Marine expects to post losses through the first half of next year due to poor market conditions, reports Bloomberg quoting its CEO Yoo Chang-keun. “This year will be the year to strengthen our financials,” Yoo told Bloomberg. “We are targeting to make an operating profit in the third quarter of next year. By early next year, we expect much of the overcapacity in the market will be resolved. Yoo says that HMM is also making investments in overseas port operations, like TTI / MSC's facilities in Long Beach and a container terminal in Algeciras, Spain (Both terminals are former Hanjin assets), so as to offset the underperformance of its core shipping business.

As many as 220 former Hanjin Shipping employees could be set to start work at Hyundai Merchant Marine. The South Korean carrier has already hired 131 employees including onshore, offshore, overseas staffs and ship managers. Moreover, HMM will also recruit 41 additional ex-Hanjin’s employees including offshore staff and assign them to the tasks next month. Then, HMM will acquire total 172 of Hanjin’s workforce of next month. In addition, HMM also plans to rehire the maximum of 40~50 additional Hanjin’s offshore staff to fit in with expansion HMM plans by acquiring additional vessels. Its move will bring the total rehired staff number up to around 220 . HMM CEO, C.K. Yoo said “We acquire the best shipping workforce via 1:1 interview.