S. Korea’s shipbuilding industry to revive through LNG in 2020

After years struggling to stay afloat, the country’s shipbuilding industry is ready for a return to growth.

“The rosy outlook for the new year is rooted in the new environmentally-friendly trend in the industry, as demand for vessels powered by liquefied natural gas-powered or LNG is expected to surge.”

Starting in 2020, the International Maritime Organization is implementing a new regulation to reduce maritime sulfur emissions from three.five percent to just zero.five percent.

U.S. shale oil production will also help Korean shipbuilding companies find a more favorable spot in the market.
Most importantly, however Korean LNG shipbuilding technology is unbeatable.

“South Korea’s LNG technology is the best of the best in the entire world. The country’s productivity, which is the most crucial part of shipbuilding, is head and shoulders above other countries in terms of work capacity, design and supervision in the shipbuilding process.”

“Our company, Daewoo Shipbuilding, was the first to export LNG vessels to the whole world. Along with our very own technical skills, we have achieved our own patents for LNG shipbuilding, which satisfies the needs of our global customers.”

After hitting bottom rock four years ago, the country’s shipbuilding industry is now once again picking up.
In fact, South Korea retained its top spot in shipbuilding for a second year in 2019, securing 37 percent of worldwide orders.

The recovery in this bread-and-butter industry also means job training, with more than 11-thousand people brought on board last November.

Global uncertainties, including U.S.-China trade war, linger into the new year, but there’s still enough upside for a new boom in the industry.

Changing shipbuilding market dynamics, especially the introduction of future-oriented shipbuilding ideas and technologies, could be one approach.

To deal with a paradigm shift in the industry, South Korea’s trade ministry has pledged to expand support for the development of smart shipyards and eco-friendly and self-driving vessels.
Source: Arirang