"Joseon Leads World No.1 in Ship Orders... Supporting Sustained Growth with High-Value and Eco-Friendly Ships"

Park Jin-gyu, Vice Minister of Industry, Visits Hyundai Samho Heavy Industries in Yeongam, Jeonnam

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Sejong=Asia Economy Reporter Kwon Haeyoung] Park Jinkyu, Vice Minister of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, stated on the 5th, "The government will actively support the shipbuilding industry to lead the high value-added and eco-friendly ship market and maintain its global No. 1 position."

Vice Minister Park made these remarks during his visit to Hyundai Samho Heavy Industries in Yeongam-gun, Jeollanam-do. This field visit was conducted to inspect the core technologies of liquefied natural gas (LNG) propulsion ships, which are leading carbon neutrality in the shipbuilding and shipping sectors.

Hyundai Samho Heavy Industries contributed to Korea's achievement of the world's No. 1 shipbuilding order volume by accounting for 14% ($2.78 billion) of the total domestic ship export value ($19.75 billion) and 19.7% (1.68 million CGT) of the total order volume (8.51 million CGT) last year. In particular, it possesses large vessel construction technology equipped with the world's first LNG propulsion systems, including large tankers (May 2018), container ships (September 2020), and bulk carriers (December 2020). Based on this, it ranked first in orders for large LNG propulsion LNG ships (174k class) among domestic shipyards last year, securing 12 out of 36 vessels.

The government has implemented the "Act on the Development and Promotion of Environmentally Friendly Ships" to respond to global maritime environmental regulations and the new eco-friendly ship market, followed by establishing the basic plan for eco-friendly ships, the "2030 Green Ship-K Promotion Strategy." Specifically, to realize "2050 Carbon Neutrality" in the shipping, shipbuilding, and equipment industries, the government is preparing the "Eco-friendly Ship Full-cycle Innovative Technology Development Project" and plans to actively promote the training of master's and doctoral personnel in the eco-friendly and smart ship sectors.

Vice Minister Park emphasized, "The reason Korea's shipbuilding industry could achieve the world's No. 1 position is that the shipbuilding sector possesses world-leading technological capabilities. Companies like Hyundai Samho Heavy Industries, which lead the global high value-added and eco-friendly ship market, are crucial in the transition of the shipbuilding and shipping industries to an eco-friendly system. The government will continue to provide support."