Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy building at Government Complex Sejong / Courtesy of Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy
The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries jointly launched a public-private council Tuesday to strengthen cooperation between Korea’s shipbuilding and shipping industries, as concerns mount over weak coordination between the two sectors, despite their global competitiveness.
The Shipbuilding-Shipping Mutual Growth Strategy Council was launched at Lotte Hotel Seoul, drawing about 100 participants, including the ministers of trade and energy and of oceans and fisheries, as well as the heads of Korea Gas Corp., the Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Plant Association and the Korea Shipowners’ Association, along with senior executives from major shipbuilders and shipping firms.
Korea holds the world’s second-largest share of shipbuilding orders and ranks fourth globally in shipping capacity, yet critics have pointed to weak coordination between the two industries. The initiative comes amid growing concerns over geopolitical risks to energy supply chains, including disruptions linked to the conflict in the Middle East.
The council unveiled a four-pronged strategy, dubbed WAVE, aimed at strengthening cooperation between shipbuilding and shipping. The framework focuses on closing technology gaps to reach “world top class” capabilities, building broader industry alliances, expanding the national fleet and supporting domestic shipyards and creating a regional, economy-based ecosystem for mutual growth.
A detailed implementation plan is expected by year-end. Expert task forces will operate on a standing basis, with quarterly plenary meetings feeding policy recommendations.
At the launch event, the Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Plant Association and the Korea Shipowners’ Association jointly adopted a declaration calling for more coordinated vessel ordering to promote domestic procurement. The statement cited recent examples, including Koryo Shipping’s joint order for six 1,900-TEU container ships and HMM’s order for 10 2,800-TEU vessels, both placed with HD Hyundai Heavy Industries.
The three major shipbuilders, Korea Gas Corporation and the Korea Shipowners' Association also signed a memorandum of understanding on liquefied natural gas transport cooperation to bolster energy supply chain resilience.
The two ministries said they plan to jointly pursue a 600 billion won ($406.93 million) program this year to develop AI-enabled autonomous vessel technology and to explore expanding the scope of the Korea-U.S. shipbuilding cooperation initiative known as MASGA to include shipping and port infrastructure.
This article was published with the assistance of generative AI and edited by The Korea Times.
Source: Korea Times News
