The South Korean government is expanding its artificial intelligence (AI) collaboration in the shipbuilding industry, initially focused on autonomous vessels, to include ship manufacturing sites. The initiative aims to disseminate AI technologies verified by large shipbuilders to small and medium-sized shipyards and their partners, while also enhancing support for the issuance of refund guarantees (RG) for small shipbuilders and their entry into the U.S. market.
On September 10, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy held the 23rd Maritime Day ceremony in Seoul's Yangjae-dong, attended by over 250 industry stakeholders, including Deputy Minister Moon Shin-hak and Lee Sang-kyun, president of the Korea Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering Association.
Maritime Day was established to commemorate the domestic ship orders surpassing 10 million tons on September 15, 1997, with the ceremony being held annually since 2004.
During the event, Deputy Minister Moon proposed three policy directions to enhance the competitiveness of the shipbuilding industry: collaboration between upstream and downstream industries, cooperation between large and small shipbuilders, and joint entry into overseas markets.
The existing 'Autonomous Ship M.AX Alliance' focused on autonomous vessels will be restructured into the 'AI Shipbuilding Alliance' to encompass ship manufacturing sites. The plan is to support the dissemination of technologies verified by large shipbuilders to their partners and small shipyards. To bolster overseas orders for small shipbuilders, the government will also promote the activation of RG issuance in collaboration with relevant ministries and financial institutions.
Collaboration between the shipbuilding industry and related sectors such as steel and shipping will also be strengthened. The government plans to support the installation of domestic shipbuilding materials on new vessels ordered by national shipping companies to secure the necessary loading history for exports of domestic shipbuilding materials.
The 'Shipbuilding-Shipping Win-Win Development Council,' co-chaired by the ministers of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries, will discuss ways to secure work for the domestic shipbuilding industry, including joint orders by national shipping companies and prioritizing public vessel orders.
Additionally, the government is working to expand the participation of small shipbuilders and equipment manufacturers in the Korea-U.S. shipbuilding cooperation project, known as MASGA. This initiative aims to enhance the maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) capabilities of small shipbuilders and support domestic equipment manufacturers in entering the U.S. market.
The Korea-U.S. Shipbuilding Cooperation Center, which opened in Washington, D.C. at the end of July, will be utilized to help small shipbuilders and equipment manufacturers develop local sales channels. In the fourth quarter of this year, the first 'Korea-U.S. Shipbuilding Cooperation Partnership Event' will be held in the U.S., featuring participation from domestic shipbuilders and equipment manufacturers.
Deputy Minister Moon noted that the domestic shipbuilding industry recorded $32 billion in exports over the past year, the highest in eight years, and maintained its position as the world's leading market for liquefied natural gas (LNG) carriers.
He stated, "Building a single ship is impossible without the efforts of the shipyard alone. The strength of the entire upstream and downstream value chain, encompassing steel, materials, shipping, and finance, is the competitiveness of K-Shipbuilding."
Moon emphasized, "A large fleet moves at the speed of its slowest ship. Let us all, large and small shipbuilders, equipment manufacturers, and both the private and government sectors, work together as part of the K-Shipbuilding fleet to move forward together."
During the event, 35 individuals were recognized with government awards and commendations from the Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy for their contributions to the development of the shipbuilding and marine industry. Park Tae-soo, CEO of Doowon High Steel, received the Silver Tower Industrial Medal, while a representative from a financial institution that supported RG issuance for small shipbuilders received a commendation from the Prime Minister.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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