The government is fully launching a ‘one-team’ strategy that binds the shipbuilding and shipping industries together.

The Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries and the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy held the launch ceremony of the ‘Shipbuilding-Shipping Mutual Development Strategy Council’ at the Lotte Hotel in Seoul on April 28 and announced the ‘W.A.V.E. (World-class Alliance for Vessels Production & Ecosystem)’ strategy to strengthen cooperation between the two industries.

The plan is to strengthen global competitiveness by binding shipbuilding and shipping into a single industrial strategy. The W.A.V.E strategy stands for securing World-class technology (W), strengthening the shipbuilding and shipping industry Alliance (A), expanding the national fleet and Vessel production (V), and building an industrial Ecosystem (E).

The launch ceremony on this day was attended by about 100 officials, including the Ministers of Oceans and Fisheries and Trade, Industry and Energy, as well as representatives from related organizations such as the Korea Gas Corporation, the Korea Offshore and Shipbuilding Association, and the Korea Shipping Association, along with major shipbuilders such as HD Hyundai, Hanwha, and Samsung Heavy Industries, and shipping companies such as HMM and Pan Ocean.

Until now, South Korea has faced criticism for a lack of connection between the industries despite possessing world-class shipbuilding competitiveness and shipping capabilities. In particular, as geopolitical risks such as the situation in the Middle East grow, the need to build a maritime supply chain connecting domestic shipbuilding and national fleet transportation has increased.

On the same day, the shipbuilding and shipping associations adopted the ‘National Fleet Joint Order Declaration’ and decided to expand domestic orders. Similar to the recent case where Korea Marine Transport Co. and HMM jointly ordered container ships from domestic shipyards, the plan is to strengthen the industrial ecosystem by expanding cooperation between shipping companies and shipbuilders.

In addition, the three major shipbuilders, the Korea Gas Corporation, and the Korea Shipping Association signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) for cooperation in liquefied natural gas (LNG) transportation and agreed to cooperate in securing energy transportation stability.

The government also plans to speed up the development of autonomous ship technology. The Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries and the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy decided to promote a 600 billion won (approximately $407 million) AI-based fully autonomous ship development project centered around the ‘M.AX (Maritime Autonomous eXperience) Alliance,’ a public-private cooperative body for the development and demonstration of autonomous ship technology, and to strengthen cooperation in securing future ship technologies such as ammonia and electric propulsion ships and the localization of LNG cargo holds.

Minister of Oceans and Fisheries Hwang Jong-woo said, “Shipbuilding and shipping are key partners that support the national economy and import-export logistics,” adding, “The launch of this council will serve as an opportunity for the two industries to leap forward as a public-private one team.”

Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Kim Jung-kwan also stated, “We have fully launched an action-oriented cooperative system that jointly promotes demand and technology, demonstration, and institutional improvement,” and added, “It will serve as an opportunity for shipbuilding and shipping to leap forward together.”
Source: Business Korea