State-run Korea Development Bank announced it will help Hanjin Heavy Industries & Construction, South Korea’s oldest shipbuilder, to stand on its feet, following the shipbuilder’s move to file for rehabilitation. KDB reported on February 13, that it would help Hanjin Heavy negotiate with a number of Filipino financial institutions who are owed vast sums of money by the Korean yard.
South Korean shipbuilders ranked second globally in total new orders for January, surpassed by China. According to the Clarkson Research Institute, South Korean shipyards were awarded new orders with an overall worth of 580,000 compensated gross tons, in order to build 12 ships. Japan came third with 13.69 million CGTs.
Samsung Heavy Industries Co. is not interested in taking part in the race of purchasing Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co., as its parent Samsung Group doesn’t wish to expand its shipbuilding business, according to Yonhap. Yet, on January 2019 Hyundai Heavy Industries expressed its interest on buying, the second-placed, Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering Co Ltd.
As EJF reported, the South Korean Government allowed illegally-caught fishing vessels in Antarctic waters, by allowing the owner to sell the catch on the global seafood market. A fish traceability system is crucial to prevent similar cases. Specifically, International and Korean NGOs have issued a statement according to which the Korean Governments is handling of the case of illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing that occurred in the Antarctic.
Ocean Infinity announced that its vessel, Seabed Constructor, sets sail from Cape Town to begin the search for the lost South Korean ship, Stellar Daisy. The vessel sank on March 31, 2017 with the loss of 22 out of 24 of its crew. The vessel was transferring iron ore from Brazil to China and it is believed that it has gone down in the South Atlantic Ocean approximately 1,800 nautical miles due west of Cape Town.
US sanctions on Iran have forced South Korea to look for alternative sources of condensates, thereby impacting tonne-mile demand, shipping consultancy Drewry said. Meanwhile, as Asian petrochemical consumption is likely to slow down, intra-regional trade will weaken and will therefore lead to lower charter rates for small gas carriers.
Hyundai Heavy Industries informed that it has secured a 320 billion won deal to construct three VLCCs. Hyundai Heavy will deliver the vessels, each being 330 meters long and 60 meters wide, beginning in the second half of 2020. Hyundai Heavy and its two affiliates aspire to win $15.9 billion worth of shipbuilding deals in 2019, marking an increase of 21% from 2018.
China’s stringent environmental regulations as part of its efforts to reduce air pollution levels in its major cities is expected to surge demand for LNG carriers as a ship type, lifting prices of newbuildings, Hyundai Heavy Industries CEO Sam H. Ka was quoted as saying.
Saudi Aramco aims to invest up to $1.6 billion for about for up to 19.9% of Hyundai Oilbank from Hyundai Heavy Industries Holdings, which owns 91.13% of Hyundai Oilbank. The latter has 650,000 barrels per day of refining capacity in the southwestern city of Daesan and plans to expand its petrochemical business. Saudi Aramco will probably value Hyundai Oilbank at 10 trillion won, or 36,000 won per share.
Four South Korean and foreign teams will take part in a project to build floating wind farms through cooperation with the city of Ulsan, South Korea. The city has been involved in green energy programs with government support. Namely, SK E&S, a South Korean energy company, will collaborate with Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners, Shell cooperated with CoensHexicon and the two other parties involve the Green Investment Group and Korea Floating Wind.
