Hyundai Heavy Industries Completes Real-size LNG Vessel Demonstration Facility

Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) shows its advanced technologies in liquefied natural gas (LNG) vessels which expand the market due to stricter environment regulations.

The company announced on June 19 that it recently completed “total LNG vessel demonstration facility,” which allows customers to directly verify performance and safety of core facilities of LNG ships, for the first time in the shipbuilding industry at the headquarters in Ulsan.

Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI)  set up a 25MW LNG fuel supply system demonstration facility in 2012 and added an 85MW demonstration facility in 2015. In addition, the company built a LNG regasification system demonstration facility this year, completing the total demonstration facility for LNG vessels. The company is the only shipbuilding company that has the total demonstration facility for LNG vessels.

Based on the demonstration facility, HHI proves performance of its self-developed LNG fuel supply system called “Hi-GAS,” leading to winning actual orders. The company used the Hi-GAS in its 176,000-square-meter high performance LNG carrier which was delivered in September last year and Hyundai Samho Heavy Industries became the world’s first large shipbuilding company to win an order to build LNG powered oil tankers in March this year. Moreover, HHI plans to install its self-developed LNG regasification system dubbed “Hi-ReGAS” in LNG floating storage regasification units (FSRU), an order won this year.


The Original Posted by Jung Min-hee/Business Korea
http://www.ekomeri.com/hyundai-heavy-industries-completes-real-size-lng-vessel-demonstration-facility/

Jobs for Graduates Keep Dwindling

The job market for young people looks increasingly grim amid promises from President Moon Jae-in to make job creation his priority.

A survey by the Korea Employers Federation suggests there will be just one job for every 35.7 people who graduate from university this year. That means only 28 of every 1,000 applicants will land a job.

The KEF polled 312 companies nationwide and released the responses on Sunday.
In the same survey two years ago, one job was available for every 32.3 applicants.

Landing coveted jobs in big corporations is even harder, with one job for every 38.5 applicants for companies with over 300 staff. That is six times more difficult than in smaller firms, where the ration is a less daunting 1:5.8.  Two years ago, there was a job for every 35.7 applicants in big companies and one in 6.6 for smaller firms.

“Companies now tend to hire only a small number of people they actually need for vacant positions,” a KEF spokesman said. “There’s a backlog of jobseekers after years of a bad job market, and applicants still concentrate all their efforts on big corporations.”

The Original posted by The Chosunilbo

http://www.ekomeri.com/jobs-graduates-keep-dwindling/

DSME gets $50 mn from clients to dismantle canceled order for offshore structure

South Korea’s Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co. (DSME) reached out-of-court settlement with its client and partner, receiving $25 million each from the European offshore energy company Dong Energy and Technip France SAS in fees to dismantle offshore drilling order that was cancelled close to its completion.

The Korean shipbuilder won the contract to build drilling platform from Dong Energy in February 2012 in a consortium with Technip. The contract was worth $560 million, of which $200 million was reserved for DSME in charge of designing and building upper structure.
The Danish state-run energy company terminated the contract in March 2016 and refused to pay penalty cost blaming the shipbuilder for the delay in delivery. DSME took the matter to International Arbitration claiming the order was cancelled by Dong amid fall in oil prices and demanded the client to share the cost of dismantling the facility.

DSME modified its strategy amid foggy chances of winning the lawsuit whose ruling was due in 2020. After thoroughly studying the domestic law, DSME found that Dong Energy still holds the ownership of the offshore platform and notified the Danish company that it could face criminal charges for violation of waste management act.

Dong Energy mulling selling of its crude oil and gas businesses concluded that a criminal litigation in Korea could have a negative impact on its sale plan and decided to pay $25 million to DSME. Technip agreed to share the responsibility in the breakdown of the order and paid $25 million.

Since the shipyard was paid 80 percent for the progress in building and another $50 million to dismantle the structure, the company would not have lost anything from the collapse of the deal and could even make money by selling the key components, an official said.

The Original Posted By Moon Ji-woong/Business Korea

http://www.ekomeri.com/dsme-gets-50-mn-clients-dismantle-canceled-order-offshore-structure/

Doosan Heavy Industries & Construction Lands Water Treatment Project from UK

Doosan Heavy Industries & Construction Co., Ltd. announced that Doosan Enpure, its affiliate in the UK, signed a contract worth about 87.5 billion won (US$78 million) with Severn Trent Water, a British waterworks operator, to supply facilities to the latter’s water treatment plants in Birmingham.

The Birmingham Water Treatment Plant is a large-scale water treatment facility capable of processing 320,000 tons of water per day and is scheduled to be completed by 2020. Doosan Heavy Industries & Construction will conduct the plant design and the supply of equipment. The water produced at the water treatment plant will be used as water for living by citizens of Birmingham, the second largest city in the UK.

“Demand for water treatment is rocketing worldwide thanks to population growth, urbanization, and pollution problems,” said Yoon Seok-won, chief of the Water BG at Doosan Heavy Industries & Construction, adding, “This year, we are solidifying our position as a total water solution company by landing this order after winning a desalination project from Saudi Arabia early this year.”

Doosan Heavy Industries & Construction is expanding its water treatment business by signing an agreement with Korea South-East Power to supply environmentally friendly water treatment technology ZLD (Zero Liquid Discharge) in February after landing orders for water treatment plants from the UK and Oman in 2015 and 2016, respectively.

The Original Posted by Jung Min-hee/Business Korea

http://www.ekomeri.com/doosan-heavy-industries-construction-lands-water-treatment-project-uk/

States rush to beat BWMC deadline

Four states ratified IMO’s Ballast Water Management Convention (BWMC) this week, apparently timed to beat a deadline set out in the convention’s entry-into-force criteria.

The Bahamas and Singapore deposited their instruments of accession yesterday (8 June), a day after Australia had ratified and two days after the United Arab Emirates had done the same, on Tuesday (6 June). They brought the number of states party to the BWMC to 59, representing 65.18 per cent of the world’s merchant fleet tonnage.

By ratifying by 8 June, the convention will enter into force for these states on 8 September, along with every other state that has ratified it so far. Article 18 of the convention, which addresses its entry into force, specifies that, for states that ratify the convention after its requirements for entry into force have been met but before its entry into force, their ratification “shall take effect on the date of entry into force of this convention or three months after the date of deposit of instrument, whichever is the later date.”

Most other conventions have similar clauses, in line with the UN’s Vienna Treaty, which sets out parameters for “any treaty which is the constituent instrument of an international organisation.”

The Original Posted by Ballast Water Teeatment Technology

http://www.ekomeri.com/states-rush-beat-bwmc-deadline/

Hyundai Robotics exchange shares to meet holding requirement

Hyundai Robotics Co., as part of a group-wide restructuring plan to act as a holding entity for non-shipbuilding units of Hyundai Heavy Industries, has exchanged new issues in its stock worth 1.77 trillion won ($1.57 billion) in return for shares in Hyundai Heavy Industries, Hyundai Electric, and Hyundai Construction Equipment.

The exchange – 4,382,817 in new shares at 403,687 won apiece which is 2.01 percent discounted from Monday’s closing of 412,000 won – had upset the existing shareholders. Shares of Hyundai Robotics ended Tuesday at 390,500 won ($345.9), 21,500 won or 5.2 percent down from the previous session.

In April, Hyundai Heavy Industries Co. was spun off into Hyundai Robotics, Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI), Hyundai Construction Machinery, and Hyundai Electric & Energy System. Hyundai Robotics would be acting as the holding entity for the other three while HHI becomes entirely devoted to shipbuilding.

To meet with the guidelines for holding establishments, Hyundai Robotics must own 20 percent or more in its subsidiaries. The company currently owns 13.37 percent in the other three.

Once Hyundai Robotics increases its stakeholding in the other three, Chung Mong-joon, chairman of Asan Foundation who owns 10.15 percent in the four companies, would be able to command a stronger grip over management affairs through Hyundai Robotics.

The Original Posted By Yoon Jin-ho/Maeil Business Korea

Second DFDS RoRo Launched in Flensburg

Danish shipping and logistics company DFDS informed that Tulipa Seaways, the second roll-on/roll-off (RoRo) vessel built at German-based shipyard Flensburger Schiffbau-Gesellschaft, has been launched.

Following its naming which took place on June 9, the newbuilding was launched from the construction berth into the water to be completed alongside the quay. The superstructure, consisting of the bridge and accommodation facilities, are still to be added to the ship, the company said.
The ship is, along with its sister vessel Gardenia Seaways which was launched in February, expected to enter service on the Rotterdam – Immingham freight route. Gardenia Seaways will be handed over and enter service at the end of June and Tulipa Seaways in autumn.
“In spite of Brexit, we still see freight volumes on our North Sea routes growing, and we are confident that the ships will offer the capacity, reliability and a significantly improved quality of service,” Niels Smedegaard, CEO of DFDS, commented.
DFDS said it will take on both vessels under a bareboat charter contract. Last year, DFDS agreed with the Siem Group to bareboat-charter the two vessels for a five-year period, with a purchase option.
The design of the ship, developed in Flensburg, meets current environmental requirements, reducing fuel consumption and providing much better handling when loading and unloading in port, according to the company.
“The two newbuildings represent the first step in an ambitious newbuilding programme that will add considerable capacity to our North Sea Network over the next few years,” Smedegaard added.

http://www.ekomeri.com/second-dfds-roro-launched-flensburg/

Daewoo Shipbuilding Delivered Offshore Plant to Statoil as Scheduled

Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering announced on June 12 that it delivered an offshore plant to Statoil, a multinational energy company, in accordance with their contract signed in 2012.  
The total value of the project rose from US$1.8 billion to US$2.7 billion after a change in its design and specifications. By delivering it to Statoil, Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering completed the delivery of the second one of its five offshore plants scheduled to be delivered this year.
The fixed platform is an upper structure for crude oil production, has a weight of approximately 40,000 tons, and is capable of producing 2.5 million barrels of crude oil a month. The facility, which can endure the harsh conditions of the North Sea, is slated to be built on a continental shelf in that region.
At present, Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering’s order backlog includes 10 offshore plants, two production facilities and eight drill ships to be specific. The company is planning to deliver the rest of the five scheduled to be delivered this year by October as scheduled.
The Original Posted by Jung Min-hee/Business Korea

http://www.ekomeri.com/daewoo-shipbuilding-delivered-offshore-plant-statoil-scheduled/

Korean dockyards win most new ship orders for 2 months

Hyundai Heavy Industries`s VLCC

South Korean shipyards ranked first in global ship order book for the second month in a row in May.
Korean shipbuilders last month won the biggest orders worth 790,000 compensated gross tons (CGTs) or 21 ships, according to U.K.-based industry monitor Clarkson Research Services Ltd. on Monday. China and Japan followed up with 17 ships worth 320,000 CGT and three orders equivalent to 80,000 CGT, respectively.
Suggesting pickup in global demand, total orders for ships amounted to 1.66 million CGT or 50 ships last month, doubling April’s 850,000 CGT or 34 ships.
Cumulative new orders over the first five months of this year reached 6.53 million CGT or 238 ships, up 650,000 CGT from the same period last year of 5.88 million CGT or 237 ships.
Korea came first in combined January-May weighted orders with 2.07 million CGT (57 vessels), outpacing China with 1.84 million CGT (101 vessels). Italy won 740,000 CGT and Finland 670,000 CGT. Japan ranked fifth with 380,000 CGT.
Global backlog amounted to 76.19 million CGT, down from last month’s 76.94 million CGT.
Korea recorded an order backlog of 17.49 million CGT as of May, up 150,000 CGT from April’s 17.34 million CGT.
Korea has become the second in backlog scoreboard after China.

The Original Posted By Moon Ji-woong/Maeil Business News Korea

http://www.ekomeri.com/korean-dockyards-win-new-ship-orders-2-months/

HSHI and IMM Private Equity Agree to Increase Pre-IPO Investment to KRW 400 Billion

Hyundai Samho Heavy Industries (HSHI), a shipbuilding affiliate of Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI), announced today it and IMM Private Equity, a leading Korean private equity firm, agreed to increase the pre-IPO investment to KRW (hereinafter ‘won’)  400 billion.

In April this year, HSHI and IMM Private Equity signed an agreement under which, HSHI will issue 5.36 million new convertible preferred shares and IMM Private Equity will pay 300 billion won in total to acquire the shares at 56,000 won per share.

It is reported that IMM Private Equity suggested increasing the investment in view of an array of investment inquiries it got from institutional investors after the April pre-IPO investment announcement. IMM Private Equity that already secured 50 billion won plans to acquire additional 50 billion won by the end of June.

An official from IMM Private Equity said, “We see the shipbuilding industry hit the historical low, and now is heading toward recovery. Bearing that in mind, it seems natural that investors are showing interests in making investment in HSHI, a leading shipbuilder.” For the first three months this year, HSHI recorded 734.3 billion won in sales and 43 billion won in operating profits, posting profits for fifth consecutive quarters on a non-consolidated basis. Moreover, by the end of May this year HSHI clinched 15 ships worth $1 billion including the world’s first four LNG-fueled 114,000 DWT ICE-Class IA aframax tankers from Sovcomflot.

Upon completing the 400 billion won pre-IPO investment, HSHI will lower its debt-to-equity ratio to 72.8%.
Source Hyundai Heavy Indurstries

http://www.ekomeri.com/hshi-imm-private-equity-agree-increase-pre-ipo-investment-krw-400-billion/

Diplomatic Spat in the Middle East Has East Asia Worried

Is the Diplomatic spat of major Arab countries with Qatar spreading to East Asia? Most main customers of Qatari liquefied natural gas concentrated in Asia. If the geopolitical problem in the Middle East continues for a long time, there is a possibility of LNG prices to go up.

On June 5, the eight Middle Eastern and North African countries including Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, and the United Arab Emirates declared that they would sever ties with Qatar over support for terrorist organizations.

The total volume of LNG exported by Qatar last year was 77.2 million tons, accounting for a third of the world’s supply. Of this, the share exported to Asia is 65.3 percent. In Asia, Taiwan and India rely more than 50 percent of LNG on Qatar. As for China, it’s LNG import from Qatar is second in the world after Saudi Arabia. Korea imports 37 percent of its LNG from Qatar. Japan, the world’s largest LNG importer, relies on 15 percent of its imports on Qatar.

The Original Posted by why@hankyung.com/

http://www.ekomeri.com/diplomatic-spat-middle-east-east-asia-worried/