Hanwha Ocean Denies Suspension of Shipbuilding Business

Hanhwa Ocean Co. Ltd. refuted reports that it has suspended orders in its business enterprise. The shipbuilding firm, formerly Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co., Ltd., further said that the speculations that it has reduced its docks are not true either.

Company Clarifies Untrue Claims

Hanwha Ocean said these reports about the supposed halting of container ship orders are unfounded. On Monday, Jan. 8, a company official issued a statement clarifying that they have stopped accepting orders for container vessels.

According to Korea's Business Post, Hanhwa Oceans also debunked the speculations that the firm may discontinue the business due to poor performance and sales last year. As a matter of fact, it has been a busy 2023 for the company as it has received orders for 17 ships consisting of five liquefied natural gas (LNG) carriers, seven special ships, and five ammonia carriers.

Furthermore, although today's business trend focuses on highly profitable, eco-friendly ship business, Hanwa Ocean said it has never considered withdrawing from the container ship business and has no plans to stop taking orders for certain types of ships.

"We are establishing a sales strategy for each ship type accordingly," a company official said. "But we inform you that the statement about suspending business for certain ship types, such as containers, is not true."

He added, "Our basic position is to take selective orders to improve profitability, but we have no plans to reduce the current number of docks, which are five, by stopping taking orders for specific ship types."

Reported Exit from Container Vessel Business

The clarification came after several media outlets reported that Hanwha Ocean had quit, eliminating its money-losing container shipbuilding unit.

The Korea Economic Daily reported that the company discontinued this business to focus on LNG and other profitable vessels. It noted that the decision was also due to heavy losses as China-based companies are starting to become the dominant players in the container shipbuilding industry.

Photo by: Hanhwa Ocean Newsroom