South Korea’s oceans ministry informed that it will support the building of more than 200 ships during the next three years to improve the troubled maritime industry. The country will assist in building these ships through the Korea Oceans Business Corp. (KOBC). In addition, South Korea wants local shipbuilders to build eco-friendly ships to comply with IMO regulations in 2020.
Kim Young-choon, Minister of oceans and fisheries, revealed the plan to help the shipbuilding industry through the Korea Oceans Business Corp.
A key factor that contributed to this decision is the need to renovate the nation’s fishing industry, which still relies on obsolete technologies. As the Minister noted, South Korea will try to overhaul the fishing sector from marine resource management to production, distribution and consumption.
In order to achieve this, the government will establish comprehensive plans to advance the marine tourism and leisure industry and increase support for startup companies to create jobs, Yonhap news agency reported.
In addition, Kim Young-choon will collaborate with local shipbuilders to build eco-friendly container ships, in order to comply with the 2020 sulphur cap.
The country will focus on ships that run on LNG, which are considered an eco-friendly option to comply with stricter international regulations. However, high costs are raising obstacles to private shippers.