Thirty years ago when Greek shipowner George Livanos met with Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) founder Chung Ju Yung met on a sandy beach on the tip of the Korean peninsula where the new HHI shipyard would stand, little did they know that 30 years later, HHI would have delivered 1,000 ships of 75 mdwt to 188 shipowners in 42 countries. HHI is celebrating its 30th anniversary in a manner most any other commercial shipbuilder would enjoy, with the delivery of its 1,000th vessel, or the equivalent of 77.5 million dwt. Rival shipyards and political organizations in Europe, the U.S. and Japan often question the manner in which HHI and its shipbuilding colleagues in South Korea garner such large market share, with the dreaded word “subsidies” used with great earnest.
