HJ Heavy Industries and Daesun Shipbuilding Team Up for First Joint Production of Ship Accommodation Blocks

Collaboration on Accommodation Blocks for Eight Container Ships

HJ Heavy Industries has commissioned Daesun Shipbuilding to manufacture ship accommodation blocks. This is the first time that mid-sized shipbuilders representing the Busan region are collaborating on the production of accommodation blocks.

Group photo of HJ Heavy Industries and Daeseon Shipbuilding. Center, wearing a navy suit, is Yoo Sangcheol, CEO of HJ Heavy Industries; on the right is Kwon Mincheol, CEO of Daeseon Shipbuilding. Photo by HJ Heavy Industries

HJ Heavy Industries announced that it is outsourcing to Daesun Shipbuilding the production of accommodation blocks to be installed on eight 7,900 TEU-class eco-friendly container ships ordered by a European shipowner.

The ship accommodation block is a superstructure that integrates the wheelhouse and navigation equipment, cabins and offices, and various amenities, and is one of the core components of a vessel. It serves as the workspace and living area for about 30 crew members during long voyages, and the accommodation blocks ordered this time are comparable in size to a 10-story building.

Unlike ordinary blocks built at shipyards, which are designed mainly for functionality and productivity, accommodation blocks must also take into account navigational efficiency and the living convenience of the crew. In particular, they are fitted with expensive navigation and communication equipment, including various control devices, radar, compasses, and satellite navigation systems (GPS), and feature complex layouts of piping and wiring, making them known to be highly challenging to build.

HJ Heavy Industries had previously produced accommodation blocks in-house, but as its Yeongdo Shipyard has reached full capacity due to orders for eco-friendly merchant vessels and special-purpose ships, as well as contracts for U.S. Navy MRO work, the company decided to procure them externally in order to focus on core processes and secure production flexibility. In line with this, it has been pursuing a subcontract agreement with Daesun Shipbuilding, whose technological capabilities in ship accommodation block production are well recognized.

Among the accommodation blocks for the eight ships ordered last year, the first block was delivered last month after a lighting ceremony that doubled as a quality review. The lighting ceremony is a procedure to check whether the internal electrical and instrumentation systems, power supply, and major facilities of the accommodation block operate normally as designed.

An HJ Heavy Industries official said, "We expect that outsourcing the production of these accommodation blocks will not only increase sales for both companies, but also contribute to a virtuous cycle in the shipbuilding ecosystem and to revitalizing the regional economy," adding, "We will continue to expand cooperation based on the regional supply chain to strengthen win-win collaboration synergies."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.