HD Korea Shipbuilding & Cochin Shipyard Sign MOU
"Expanding Influence in the Global Shipbuilding Market"
HD Hyundai is accelerating its efforts to penetrate the global shipbuilding market by partnering with India's largest state-owned shipyard.
HD Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering, the intermediate holding company overseeing HD Hyundai's shipbuilding division, announced on the 6th that it has recently signed a comprehensive memorandum of understanding (MOU) for long-term cooperation in the shipbuilding sector with Cochin Shipyard Limited (CSL), India's largest shipyard.
Cochin Shipyard is a state-owned shipyard located in Kerala, southern India, with the Indian government holding a 67.91% stake. The shipyard possesses design, construction, and repair capabilities for a wide range of vessel types, from merchant ships to aircraft carriers. Over the past five years, it has demonstrated its technological prowess by successfully delivering a total of 70 vessels, including 60 small merchant ships and 10 naval vessels.
Through this agreement, HD Hyundai aims to achieve mutual growth with the local shipbuilding industry based on the sharing of technological expertise. The company will provide support in design and procurement, pursue technological cooperation to enhance productivity and quality, and establish comprehensive systems for workforce development and training. Both parties have also agreed to explore opportunities for securing shipbuilding orders not only in India but also in overseas markets.
This collaboration is aligned with the Indian government's ongoing roadmap to foster its maritime industry. The Indian government has previously announced plans to elevate its shipbuilding sector to the world's top 10 by 2030 and to the top 5 by 2047 through its 'India Maritime Vision 2030' and 'Maritime Amrit Kaal Vision 2047' initiatives.
To this end, India has established a maritime development fund worth approximately 250 billion rupees (about 4 trillion won) this year and is significantly increasing policy investments in the advancement of the shipbuilding industry and improvement of maritime infrastructure. In fact, the Indian shipbuilding sector is experiencing rapid growth. According to market research firm Ken Research, the Indian shipbuilding and repair market grew more than twelvefold, from around $90 million (about 120 billion won) in 2022 to $1.12 billion (about 1.53 trillion won) last year. It is projected to continue growing at an average annual rate of over 60% through 2033.
Cooperation between the shipbuilding industries of both countries has been ongoing behind the scenes since last year. In November and December of last year, Shree TK Ramachandran, Vice Minister of India's Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways, and Madhu Nair, CEO of Cochin Shipyard, visited Korea to tour major shipyards, including HD Hyundai Heavy Industries' Ulsan Shipyard, Hanwha Ocean, and Samsung Heavy Industries, exploring possibilities for collaboration.
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
