Shipbuilding and Shipping to Form a 'One-Team'... Government Builds Alliance with W.A.V.E. Strategy

Launch of Public-Private Council... Joint Orders and LNG Cooperation
Cutting-Edge Technology, Fleet Expansion, and Strengthening the Ecosystem

Kim Jungkwan, Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy, delivers a greeting at the launch ceremony of the "Shipbuilding and Shipping Mutual Growth Strategy Council" held on the 28th at Lotte Hotel in Sogong-dong, Seoul. Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy

A public-private cooperative system has been officially launched to strengthen the strategic alliance between the shipbuilding and shipping industries.

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries held the launch ceremony for the "Shipbuilding·Shipping Win-Win Development Strategy Council" at Lotte Hotel in Seoul on the 28th and announced the "W.A.V.E. (Next-Generation Wave Strategy)" for the joint growth of both industries.

This council will serve as a cooperative platform with participation from shipbuilding and shipping associations, major companies, public institutions, and academia. It will operate as an implementation-oriented consultative body covering technology development, ordering, finance, and institutional improvements. Through this, the government aims to establish a "one-team system" that integrates shipbuilding and shipping as a unified industrial strategy.

The W.A.V.E. strategy consists of four main pillars: securing world top-class technology (World Top Class), strengthening alliances between industries (Alliance), expanding the national fleet and linking domestic shipbuilding (Vessel production), and establishing a regional industry-based ecosystem (Ecosystem).

As the first step in cooperation, the shipbuilding and shipping sectors will pursue a "joint order for national flag vessels." On this day, the shipbuilding and shipping associations adopted a joint statement and agreed to strengthen the linkage between domestic shipping companies and shipyards in placing orders. Similar to the recent case where Korea Marine Transport and HMM jointly ordered container vessels from domestic shipyards, the plan is to spread a structure in which shipping companies secure fleets at competitive prices while shipbuilders secure a stable volume of orders.

Cooperation will also be strengthened in the LNG transportation sector, which is directly linked to energy security. The three major shipbuilders, Korea Gas Corporation, and the Korea Shipowners' Association have signed a business agreement to stabilize the LNG transportation system and will pursue strategic cooperation across transportation, construction, and operation.

Government-level support will also be provided. The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries plan to launch a full-scale, AI-based, fully autonomous ship technology development project worth 600 billion won, centered on the autonomous ship M.AX alliance. They will also strengthen cooperation to secure future technologies such as eco-friendly ships—like ammonia- and electric-powered vessels—and the domestic production of LNG cargo tanks.

Additionally, discussions are underway to expand the scope of the Korea-U.S. shipbuilding cooperation project (MASGA) to include the shipping and port sectors.

The government expects that, through this council, shipbuilding and shipping will be reorganized into a structure that integrates supply chains, technology, and demand, going beyond their respective industries. Especially with risks in maritime supply chains growing due to instability in the Middle East region, establishing a stable logistics system that links domestic shipbuilding with national flag vessel transportation has emerged as a key task.

Kim Jungkwan, Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy, stated, "It is significant that shipbuilding and shipping have begun operating an implementation-oriented cooperative system where demand, technology, demonstration, and institutional improvements are designed together," adding, "We will support both industries so that they can advance together through the W.A.V.E. strategy."

Hwang Jongwoo, Minister of Oceans and Fisheries, also commented, "The launch of this council is an important opportunity for shipbuilding and shipping to enhance global competitiveness as a public-private one-team," adding, "We will further strengthen cooperation in the fields of autonomous ships and energy security."

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