HD Hyundai Partners Up With Indian Shipbuilder Cochin

South Korean shipbuilding leader HD Hyundai has signed up with Indian shipbuilding giant Cochin Shipyard on a deal to share design work, technology and equipment supply chains. The agreement also provides for workforce training programs.

South Korea has some of the world's most advanced shipyards, but a shortage of skilled labor is a constant hurdle, and the nation's shipbuilders are increasingly dependent upon foreign workers recruited from Vietnam and Thailand. Some Korean shipbuilders are experimenting with foreign yard locations, like Samsung's block-building yard in China or HD Hyundai's newly reopened facility in Subic Bay. These ventures use Korean shipbuilding know-how and technology, but located in areas where there is a large available workforce.

Like other foreign partnerships, the objective of the deal with Cochin is to "transplant Korean shipbuilding DNA" into India, HD Hyundai said in a statement. Cochin is majority state-owned, and is the largest government yard in India. It can build complex vessels, including India's aircraft carriers, and has delivered 70 ships of various sizes over the past five years (including 10 warships).

In addition to technical and training cooperation, the two parties have agreed to look for new shipbuilding orders together on the international market, as partners. This would bring together HD Hyundai's market presence and reputation with Cochin's capacity for expansion.

In the United States, HD Hyundai has signed similar agreements with defense leader Huntington Ingalls and with offshore vessel builder/operator Edison Chouest, each for different market segments. The objective of the Chouest partnership is to target orders for LNG-fueled container ships, taking advantage of Chouest's infrastructure and HD Hyundai's extensive experience in LNG technology.