Joyce Lee News

Australian shipbuilder Austal said on Tuesday it had rejected an A$1.02 billion ($662 million) takeover offer from South Korea's Hanwha Ocean as it was unlikely to be approved by Australian and U.S. regulators due to the sensitivity of its operations.The Western Australia-based firm said it had received a bid at A$2.825 per share, representing a premium of 28.4% to Austal's last closing price.Austal's shares rose 8.2% in early trade, while the Australian S&P/ASX200 index was flat.The…

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un inspected a shipyard and underscored the importance of a strong naval force in "war preparations", state media KCNA said on Friday.Kim's visit is being made public after North Korea tested its new submarine-launched cruise missiles (SLCM) on Sunday, firing an upgraded missile for the second time in a week and accelerating its navy's nuclear armament, according to state media."Strengthening naval force is the most important issue in pushing ahead with war preparations", KCNA cited Kim as saying during his visit to Nampho dockyard, a military shipbuilding base als

The economic incentive to import oil from the U.S. Gulf Coast to Asia has closed as the cost of booking supertankers on the route has surged amid a jump in bookings for the vessels, traders said this week.With the arbitrage for U.S. shipments closed, Asian refiners may make up some of the difference with similar Middle Eastern crude oil after top regional producer Saudi Arabia cut their sales prices for February, which is expected to carry over to other regional crudes. The spur…

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

Russia is hoping its shipments of liquefied natural gas (LNG) will offset a sharp fall in pipeline gas exports to Europe, but a shortage of gas tankers and sanctions hold back its plans, analysts and industry sources said.Russia wants to boost its share of the LNG market to 20% by 2030 from 8% now, but a force majeure declaration by top producer Novatek over LNG supplies from its future Arctic LNG 2 project due to sanctions shows the hurdles it faces.Novatek's announcement comes after the United States last month imposed sanctions on Arctic LNG 2…

Harim Holdings on Tuesday said it has been chosen as the preferred bidder to buy control of South Korea's biggest container shipping company HMM in what people with knowledge of the matter said was a 6.4 trillion won ($4.92 billion) deal.Harim and HMM creditors Korea Development Bank and Korea Ocean Business will negotiate a final deal by the first half of 2024 for 58% of the shipper, said the people, declining to be identified as they were not authorised to discuss terms.Harim entered bidding via a consortium led by its bulk shipping unit Pan Ocean.

China is making fast inroads in the market for newbuild liquefied natural gas (LNG) tankers as local and foreign shipowners turn to its shipbuilders for the specialty vessels because long dominant yards in South Korea are fully booked. Three Chinese shipyards - only one of them having experience building large LNG tankers - won nearly 30% of this year's record orders for 163 new gas carriers, claiming ground in a sector where South Korea usually captures most of the business.

South Korea's Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co Ltd signed a tentative agreement on Monday for Hanwha Group to invest 2 trillion won ($1.4 billion) in return for a 49.3% stake and management rights in the shipbuilder, the companies and Daewoo's major stakeholder said. The agreement, signed with affiliates of Hanwha Group including Hanwha Aerospace, will only be valid if Hanwha is chosen after a period of being open to other bids, Daewoo said in a regulatory filing. State-run Korea Development Bank (KDB) owns a 55.7% stake in the shipbuilder.

Ship refuelling operations were temporarily halted at South Korea's Busan and Ulsan ports on Tuesday after typhoon Hinnamnor hit the country's southern region, trade sources said.The halt in operations also paused spot premiums for low-sulphur bunker fuel offered at these ports this week at about $60 per tonne over Singapore fuel oil quotes, bunker fuel traders at South Korean companies said.Operations are likely to resume gradually later in the week, though fresh slots for bunkering are likely to start only from next week onwards…

South Korea's Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co Ltd on Wednesday said it is preparing to file a lawsuit for damages against the contract worker union that prevented production in June and July with a 51-day strike.The move could renew friction between the firm and contract workers, who occupied the shipbuilder's main dock to protest, they said, against wages falling behind those of regular workers. Read full storyDetails of the lawsuit have yet to be decided, a Daewoo…

South Korean contract workers at the country's No.3 shipbuilder agreed on Friday to end their strike after accepting a much smaller wage hike than demanded as well as job guarantees, union officials and subcontractors said.Since late last month, about 100 sub-contractors pressing for an increase of 30% have occupied the main dock at the shipyard run by Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (DSME) in the southern city of Geoje.The shipyard is one of the world's biggest and the strike has led to delivery delays of eight vessels by as much as five weeks…

Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering (KSOE) has mostly filled its order book for the next 2-1/2 years as the pandemic drove demand for container ships, leaving little room to meet the needs of the liquefied natural gas (LNG) sector, a senior company executive said.With U.S. LNG exports rising, more LNG carriers are traveling longer distances to customers in North Asia and Europe while European countries have snapped up floating storage and regasification units (FSRUs) as they ramp up LNG imports to replace Russian gas supplies in the wake of the Ukraine crisis.However…

Hyundai Heavy Industries Holdings said on Monday it had appealed to an EU court to fight the European Commission's January decision to block its takeover bid for rival shipbuilder Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering.The suit, made to the European Union's General Court, was filed on March 23, a Hyundai spokesperson said.Hyundai argued that regulators in other regions had accepted the shipbuilding industry was a market controlled by shipowners' orders and preferences, not market share, and so the proposed takeover did not hurt competition, the spokesperson said.(Reuters - Reporting by Joyce

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

South Korean shipbuilder Hyundai Heavy Industries has raised $935 million after pricing its IPO at the top of its indicative range, with much of the proceeds set to fund investments in new technology.It offered 18 million new shares or 20% of shares outstanding in a range of 52,000-60,000 won per share.It is expected to list on the KOSPI on Sept. 16.Hyundai Heavy plans to use about 760 billion won ($660 million) of the proceeds to invest in future technologies, including eco-friendly ships and digital ship technology…

Hydrogen is touted as an inevitable green fuel of the future. Tell that to the people who'll have to ship it across the globe at hyper-cold temperatures close to those in outer space.Yet that is exactly what designers are attempting to do.In the biggest technological challenge for merchant shipping in decades, companies are beginning to develop a new generation of vessels that can deliver hydrogen to heavy industry, betting plants worldwide will convert to the fuel and propel the transition to a lower-carbon economy.There are at least three projects developing pilot ships that will be ready to test transporting the fuel in Europe and Asia within the next three years…

South Korean shipbuilder Hyundai Heavy Industries Co Ltd applied for preliminary approval for an initial public offering, Korea Exchange said on Thursday.The company, currently wholly owned by Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering, was separated from Korea Shipbuilding in 2019.Hyundai Heavy reported a 2020 operating profit of 32.5 billion won on revenue of 8.3 trillion, Korea Exchange said in a statement.(Reporting by Joyce Lee; editing by Jason Neely)

China’s imports of light cycle oil (LCO) are set to fall in coming months as authorities crack down on its illicit trading and sales in South China, dealing a blow to the $10 billion market and to refiners in top supplier South Korea.China’s imports of the cheaper but more pollutive diesel blending fuel nearly doubled to record levels in 2020, but a clampdown in top oil consuming Guangdong province has curbed demand.The amount of South Korean LCO, a refinery by-product, to be loaded for shipment to China in May is down 60% from March while spot premiums have halved…

South Korean shipbuilder Hyundai Heavy Industries Co Ltd said on Tuesday that it plans an initial public offering (IPO) to raise funds toward a 1 trillion won ($905 million) investment over five years into green technology.Hyundai Heavy will issue a stake of about 20% in new shares within the year, the shipbuilder said in a statement.The money will go toward the development and construction of green ships and facilities, advancement of technologies such as dual-fuel propulsion and autonomous sailing ships, as well as toward investments in companies with fuel cell technologies, it said.The ship

The shipping industry has long been criticised by campaigners for allowing vessels to be broken up on beaches, endangering workers and polluting the sea and sand. Now, it is being called to account from a quarter that may have a bit more clout - its financial backers. Norway's $1 trillion Oil Fund, a leader in ethical investing, in February sold its stake in four firms because they scrap on the beach. Three of the firms excluded by Norway's fund - Taiwan's Evergreen Marine, Precious Shipping and Thoresen Thai Agencies (TTA) of Thailand - say they have been unfairly singled out.

China's fast-spreading coronavirus is throwing the global container shipping trade out of sync, with lines re-routing cargoes and reducing calls to Chinese ports, setting the scene for months of delivery delays ahead, industry sources said.The spread of the deadly virus has shut down cities and factories in China and disrupted global air travel.China's decision to extend its Lunar New Year holiday period until Feb. 10 has compounded logistical complications, despite its ports staying open.

Pirates attacked a South Korean-flagged cargo ship in the South China Sea early on Monday, stealing thousands of dollars in cash and even the sailors' shoes, South Korean authorities said.Two people sustained minor injuries when seven pirates boarded the CK Bluebell and made off with $13,000 and belongings including mobile phones, clothes and shoes from the 22-strong crew, officials from the oceans and fisheries ministry said.Tougher policing has made piracy less frequent on the strategic shipping route in recent years.The dry bulk vessel CK Bluebell had set sail from its anchorage off Singapore on Saturday afternoon, heading northeast for South Korea's port of Incheon, Refinitiv Eikon ship tracking data showed.Korean officials said the ship was sailing normally after the robbery.The incid

Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthi movement released three vessels and 16 people it had seized, South Korea's Foreign Ministry and a Houthi military source in Yemen said on Wednesday.The seizure on Sunday was the latest incident at sea around Yemen, where Saudi Arabia is leading a Western-backed coalition of Arab states against the Houthis, who control the capital and most population centres and have been accused of attacking shipping.Of the vessels freed on Tuesday, two were South Korean and one was Saudi Arabia-flagged, the South Korean ministry said in a statement, adding that the families of two South Koreans among the crew had been notified."The three ships were released after the necessary legal measures…