Researcher urges caution for South Korean shipbuilders eyeing tie-ups with US peers

The Export-Import Bank of Korea (KEXIM) is calling on the country’s shipbuilders to assess the risks before working with US shipbuilders.

KEXIM’s Overseas Economics Research Centre director Yang Jong-seo, said at a seminar last week that South Korean shipbuilders should follow their Japanese peers, and suggest creating a joint fund with US shipbuilders to finance collaborations.

The seminar was held weeks after South Korea’s largest shipbuilding group, HD Hyundai, signed a memorandum of understanding with US shipbuilder Edison Chouest Offshore to train the latter in building container ships of up to 3,500 TEU.