K Shipbuilding has been given a new lease of life with orders from Seaspan Corporation and MSC for a total of eight 8,000 TEU container ships.
The South Korean shipyard, formerly called STX Offshore & Shipbuilding, had been controlled by its creditors, chief of which was Korea Development Bank, after the STX chaebol collapsed in 2013. The ensuing years saw substantial downsizing as the shipbuilder closed its yard in Busan and sold its Goseong yard to compatriot ship repair company Samkang M&T.
In July 2021, the shipbuilder was renamed to its current style after being acquired by state-controlled distressed asset investor United Asset Management Company (UAMCO) and private equity player KH Investment Co., Ltd (KH Investment).
Since then, K Shipbuilding, left with just its yard in Jinhae, has been reinventing itself as a specialist in small and mid-sized ships.
Tapping on strong demand in the container shipping market, K Shipbuilding began designing vessels in the feeder, Panamax and 7,000 to 8,000 TEU range. The latter has been in huge demand lately, as such vessels can be deployed to Asia-Persian Gulf routes.
In January 2022, K Shipbuilding signed a memorandum of understanding with its compatriot marine equipment manufacturer Donghwa Entec to design LNG-fueled 8,000 TEU ships.
The Seaspan and MSC orders, which were finalised last week, have a total contract value of US$1.08 billion and are scheduled for delivery in late 2024 to 2025.
The vessels ordered by Seaspan are understood to be for a long-term charter to MSC.
A spokesperson for K Shipbuilding told Container News, “We have also won orders for LNG-fueled product tankers from the Louis Dreyfus group. Going forward, we want to design smart ships and explore technologies for unmanned shipping as these are the future trends. Developing our technological know-how will help narrow the gap between us and the larger shipbuilders.”
Martina Li
Asia Correspondent
