South Korea’s bumper orderbook, tough manufacturing schedule and troublesome home demographics have been partially resolved with an settlement hatched with Thailand whereby 3,000 Thai welders and mechanical technicians might be despatched to South Korea’s 5 largest shipyards.
South Korea has been tinkering with its visa system over the past couple of years, in search of employees from throughout Southeast Asia, and even so far as landlocked Nepal, to assist with the nation’s big raft of contracted newbuilds.
Following a decade of declining shipbuilding fortunes after the worldwide monetary disaster, the accessible home workforce had diminished making it very troublesome for the nation’s prime yards to stay with their onerous supply schedules, with orders now backing up until late into the 2020s of very massive, excessive spec vessel varieties.
In line with a current report from Danish Ship Finance, yard utilisation in South Korea averaged 53% in 2022, elevated to to 78% in 2023 and is predicted to hit 107% this 12 months.