Defending the future of shipbuilding against south korea’s ambitions

The South Korean Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy announced its intention to capture more than 80% of the next-generation shipbuilding market.

€6.25 billion will be invested over a five-year period to secure a leading global position in ship design, technology and maritime decarbonization innovation.

Over the past five years, Korean shipyards have won orders worth $32 billion, compared with $9.4 billion for European shipyards (EU-27 + Norway + UK).

Korean competitors benefit from mechanisms and levers that distort the market to the detriment of European shipbuilding. A shipyard such as DSME benefits from no fewer than nine levers.

GICAN is concerned on several grounds:

– South Korean aid conditions create a situation of proven unfair competition

– The integration of South Korea as a Horizon Europe partner represents an additional threat to the security of our know-how and technologies. The EU will thus finance South Korean technological development and, as a result, its competitiveness.

– A genuine European maritime industrial strategy must be implemented quickly.