Invest Korea

The International Maritime Organization (IMO) has been continuously strengthening environmental regulations. As the standards for reducing air pollutants and greenhouse gases are being strengthened, existing ship propellant fuels are now being replaced with clean fuels.
With the energy paradigm shift and the emergence of smart ships, the global shipbuilding and equipment industry has advanced the technology development for ships based on low-carbon or non-carbon fuel. The development of ICT also contributes to making ships smarter.

Accordingly, Korean shipbuilders and equipment manufacturers have already developed industrial products and technologies focusing on high added values, eco-friendliness, and smartness in order to acquire global competitiveness.

The number of orders received by domestic shipyards that have acquired technological competitiveness for high value-added/eco-friendly ships reached the highest level in eight years. Ship orders in 2021 reached 17.44 million CGT, an increase of 112% compared to the same period in 2020. Such order performance is the highest in eight years since 2013 (18.44 million CGT).

The ranking of orders received by domestic ship type can be broken down into container ships, LNG carriers, and tankers. Container ships accounted for the highest rate (41.5%, as of January-August 2021), due to strong global container ship orders caused by a surge in sea freight and an increase in global cargo volume.
LNG carriers are in second place, accounting for 24.2%. This is because Korea has an overwhelming share of received orders based on its high technological competitiveness, and orders for LNG carriers have increased worldwide after the strengthening of marine environment regulations by the IMO.

Donghwa Entech, founded in 1980, started its business by repairing heat exchangers for ships. The company now supplies the best products in the field of heat exchangers for ships and has established itself as a company specializing in heat exchangers. This mid-sized shipbuilding equipment and materials company boasts world-class technologies specialized in cryogenic heat exchangers as well as LNG carriers, gas-fueled ships, and LNG-FSRUs.

Donghwa Entech has invested heavily in establishing research centers of a fairly large scale that cannot be seen in other mid-sized companies with an aim to secure independent technologies in the energy and environment fields. The company developed and supplied the Cold Box, which is a key material for Korea Gas Corporation’s Korean Single Mixed Refrigerant (KSMR) Demonstration Facility, which started trial operation in August 2021. The facility is currently undergoing trial operation.

PANASIA is a global eco-friendly energy facility company engaged in water quality, air environment, and renewable energy supply facilities.
PANASIA’s main product in the beginning was the tank level and draft gauge system (TLGS), but the company developed the ballast water management system (BWTS) in 2004. It was reborn as an eco-friendly ship parts manufacturer.
GloEn-Patrol, PANASIA’s BWTS, uses a 100% physical treatment method, filter filtration, and UV sterilization technology. It is recognized as the safest, most eco-friendly device.

PANASIA also developed Korea’s first eco-friendly sulfur oxide reduction device for ships in preparation for the enactment of IMO 2020, which limits the sulfur content for ships to protect the air environment.
The company holds 250 domestic and foreign patents, and the sulfur oxide reduction device developed with domestic technologies is ranked first in the world market share. PANASIA has grown into a company with three overseas subsidiaries in Japan, China, and the Netherlands and 43 overseas networks, fully ready to enter the global market.

The rapid slowdown of the Korean economy after the global financial crisis is attributable to a slump in the shipbuilding and equipment industry, one of the largest major industries. The average contribution to regional economic growth by the shipbuilding and equipment industry (the largest major industry) in the southeastern region reached 0.9%p between 2001 and 2008, but recorded negative growth (-0.4%p) between 2011 and 2019, indicating that it did not contribute to growth.

However, as the shipbuilding industry experiences an opportunity for recovery, it is having a positive impact on the improvement of downstream industries, such as steel, chemicals, and metals, in addition to direct ripple effects, such as employment and added value creation. As the government announced an active support policy, the recovery speed of the shipbuilding and equipment industry is also accelerating. The government has recently announced the K-Shipbuilding Rebound Strategies to keep Korea’s status as a global shipbuilding powerhouse and is actively supporting the industry.

As the global environmental regulations on the shipping sector have been strengthened recently, a paradigm shift from conventional fossil fuel based shipping to low-carbon fuel-based shipping is expected.
The government, judging that such a paradigm shift will determine the future market landscape, enacted the Act on Promotion of Development and Distribution of Environment-friendly Motor Vehicles (abbr. Eco-Friendly Vessel Act) (December 2018) and is in the process of implementing the act (January 2020).
The Korean Greenship-K Distribution Implementation Plan (2020-30), a basic plan for preparing mid- to long-term strategies, has been established to encourage the development and distribution of eco-friendly ships.

Shipbuilding and offshore businesses are mainly located in the southeast area (Busan, Ulsan, Gyeongnam) and the metropolitan areas.

Approximately 78.2% of shipbuilding and marine equipment companies are distributed in the southeastern region, showing that this region is important for the shipbuilding industry. A cluster of the shipbuilding and equipment industry has been formed, which makes it possible to establish an active network.