Stx Heavy Industries News

The Seoul Central District Court begins  a rehabilitation process for STX Heavy Industries Co, after the financially strapped company applied for protection late last month, reports Yonhap. STX Heavy Industries is the latest victim in South Korea's faltering maritime industry who are trying to avoid bankruptcy. Court will proceed with a debt-restructuring receivership program to prevent the company from being driven into insolvency. STX Heavy Industries has been suffering from hefty debts and lower demand amid a prolonged economic slowdown. The court plans to hire an accounting firm which will conduct due diligence on the company and report the results by the end of September, sources said. The company is required to file its rehabilitation programs with the court by Oct. 28.

Troubled South Korea shipbuilder STX Heavy Industries Co. issued a guarantee on a loan defaulted on by its Chinese heavy machinery manufacturer, STX Dalian Heavy Industries Co., from China's Bank of Communications and has been ordered to repay the loan, reports Yonhap. Unlisted STX Dalian Heavy Industries is a wholly owned subsidiary of STX Heavy Industries and has been ordered to repay the 60.9 billion won (US$56.8 million) loan by the China International Economic and Trade Arbitration Commission after the Chinese unit failed to service the principle and interest.

STX Pan Ocean Co., the country's leading bulk carrier, said that CEO Kang Duck-soo (who is also chairman of the STX Group) has resigned as the shipper has been under court receivership since June amid a deepening liquidity crisis, reports Yonhap. The cash-strapped STX Group, South Korea's 13th biggest conglomerate, has seen its major affiliates struggling from liquidity shortages and mounting debt due to the downturn in the shipbuilding and shipping sectors. Creditors have pumped liquidity into ailing STX Group in return for overhaul efforts. STX Group's holding company STX Corp. and its three ailing units -- STX Offshore & Shipbuilding, STX Heavy Industries and STX Engine -- have requested that creditor banks supply liquidity.

South Korean shares rebounded Tuesday from the prior session's fall as local institutions rushed to hunt for bargains on views that the recent decline was excessive. STX Group shares benefit from the rebound. STX group shares ended bullish on news that its shipbuilding unit was assessed to have higher value of business continuation than liquidation value, reports Xinhua. The holding company STX Corp. surged at the daily permissible limit of 15 percent, and STX Heavy Industries and STX Engine jumped 9.4 percent and 13.3 percent each. The shipping unit STX Pan Ocean, which filed for court receivership, tumbled 14.8 percent. Source: Xinhua

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. (MHI) and STX Metal Co., Ltd., a marine diesel engine manufacturer in Korea, have signed an agreement under which MHI will license production and marketing of its MET Turbocharger*, a supercharger for marine diesel engines, to the Korean firm. By establishing a collaborative relationship with STX Metal, MHI aims for further market penetration of the MET Turbocharger in Korea, the world leader in marine diesel engine production. STX Metal is expected to complete production of the first unit of the MET Turbocharger in 2012.

The second in Noble Drilling's Globetrotter-class drillship series is being built to ABS class. The Noble Globetrotter II, like the first unit, is a dynamically positioned ultra deepwater drillship featuring the compact Huisman drilling design package. South Korea's STX Heavy Industries will be constructing the hull which will be delivered to the Netherlands where Huisman Equipment will oversee the installation and commissioning of the topside equipment. ABS will once again be reviewing the design and providing full classification of the unit once constructed. When the design was unveiled in 2008, its compactness, due to optimized integration of the drilling equipment into the vessel, drew favorable comments.

According to a May 12 report from The Korean Times, Korean Shipbuilding companies face a tough future. In the 2000s, the shipbuilding business was a cash cow for Korea Inc., which accommodates many of the world's foremost players ― Samsung Heavy Industries, Hyundai Heavy Industries, STX Heavy Industries and Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering. The segment was hit hard by the global financial distress. Yearly orders of new ships shrank to about 600 in 2009 from 5,000 in 2007. Although the major shipyards have recovered somewhat this year they will face difficult times down the road. Observers said demand for new vessels is not likely to rebound to more than 2,000 any time soon. Ships do not wear out overnight and the resumption of overall demand will be limited.

The South Korean company STX Heavy Industries Co., Ltd. and Schottel will be cooperating in the area of large rudder propeller systems for underwater installation, as used on drilling rigs, for example. Within the framework of a corresponding licence agreement, STX will manufacture rudder propellers covering a power range from 2000 to 5800 kW, while Schottel will supply the core components for these systems in the form of the L gearbox. The first STX-Schottel Rudder propellers are due for delivery in the second half of 2010.

Noble Drilling Holding has signed contracts for the construction of a new, dynamically positioned, ultra-deepwater, harsh environment Globetrotter class drillship with 's STX Heavy Industries Co., LTD (STX) and Dutch-based design and construction firm Huisman Equipment B.V. The drillship will be built on a fixed-price basis in two phases. Following construction of the hull and installation of the propulsion system by STX at their new state-of-the-art facility in , , the to-be-named drillship will sail under its own power to the where Huisman will complete the installation and commissioning of the topside equipment. The delivered cost of the drillship, excluding capitalized interest, is estimated to be $585 million, with delivery scheduled for the second half of 2011.

The Engineering Business (EB), a specialist design, engineering and construction company based in the , has thrived with the recent expansion in offshore oil & gas projects globally, dubbed one of the fasted growing companies in northeast . It was recently announced that the company was acquired by IHC Merwede. MarineNews recently caught up with Dr. Tony Trapp, EB’s Managing Director. EB was founded in April 1997 by a four-man team of engineers led by managing director, Dr. Tony Trapp.

MAN B&W S40ME-B engine. The new engine has been built by STX Heavy Industries Co., Ltd. at its Changwon works to the south of the Korean peninsula, and passed its Type Approval Test. The 6S40ME-B is the first such prime-mover for a series of multipurpose vessels of 25,000 dwt currently being built in China by Shandong Huanghai Shipbuilding Co. Ltd., and ordered by shipowner InterShip Navigation of Cyprus. The engine delivers 6,810 kW at 146 rpm with an MEP of 21 bar. The ME-B design is based on the experience gathered from MAN Diesel’s existing MC-C and ME-C engine ranges. To suit the small-bore segment, the ME-B design uses a camshaft-operated exhaust valve and an electronically controlled fuel-injection system as seen with the ME-C range.

STX Shipbuilding Co., the world's fifth-largest shipyard, fell the most in two months in Seoul trading after six executives at a unit were indicted for stealing technology from a rival. The shipbuilder's shares dropped 7.3 percent to 53,000 won at the close. The stock has fallen about a third since Nov. 8, the day before prosecutors detained two of the six executives. The six executives took files with them when they left Doosan Heavy Industries & Construction Co. to join STX Heavy Industries Co., said the official in charge of the case at the prosecutors' office in Seoul. STX Corp., the shipbuilder's biggest shareholder, declined 7.2 percent to 88,200 won. Doosan Heavy gained 0.7 percent to 139,000 won after falling as much as 9.1 percent. Source: Bloomberg

Technip awarded STX Heavy Industries (Korea) a contract for the construction of its new pipelay vessel. This 194m-long vessel will have twin 2,800 ton reels. She will have a top tension capacity of 450 tons for laying rigid steel pipes and flexible products up to 18-in. in diameter through a dedicated lay tower installed at the stern. She will also be equipped with a 150 ton crane, a PLET (pipeline end terminations) handling system and accommodation for 140 people. With a transit speed of 20 knots, she has been specifically designed to minimize intercontinental transits and allow her efficient deployment in all deep water regions of the world.

South Korea's STX Shipbuilding Co., said that its shipyard to be built will post $3b in sales in 2012, similar to that of its shipyard in Jinhae, South Korea. During a ground-breaking ceremony for the shipyard, Kang Duck-soo, chairman of STX Group, said its $500 million project to build the first South Korean-owned shipyard in China by the end of 2008 will help the company emerge as a global shipbuilder. STX Shipbuilding and its affiliate, STX Corp., will build the yard that constructs bulk carriers and smaller-sized chemical vessels. So far, the shipbuilder has won $1.1 billion worth of deals to build bulk carriers and other ships here.