Hyundai to build Korean-designed LNG carrier

Min Keh-sik, vice chairman of Hyundai Heavy Industries, recently said that Russia plans to purchase an LNG ship built with Korean design technology. Although Korea dominates global LNG carrier orders, it has been dependent on foreign companies that own the core technology for the containment systems for LNG. Korean shipbuilders have paid Gaz Transport & Technigaz (GTT) of France more than W1 trillion ($1 billion) in royalties over the last five years for this technology.

In order to avoid paying such high royalties, Korea?s shipbuilding industry began developing its own design technology for LNG vessels in 2004. It succeeded in doing so last year and received an actual order from Russia earlier this year. The industry anticipates that the success will generate more than $6 billion in benefits.