Daewoo to invest million in shipping venture

Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co. (DSME) said it will invest 46 billion won ($44 million) in a South Korean shipping venture to buy more oil tankers. The stake in DK Maritime SA, the venture with Korea Line Corp., will remain at 50 %. Korea Line, South Korea’s second-biggest operator of bulk ships, will invest 46.7 billion won in the unit, it said in a separate filing yesterday.

DSME is diversifying to reduce its dependency on vessel building. The company started shipping oil through another venture in Nigeria last month and will develop a port city in Oman, its first foray into real estate. DK Maritime started in April to initially operate two VLCCs from 2011. The venture plans to order more VLCCs DSME said, without giving details.