HD Hyundai celebrates 5,000th ship export in 50 years

HD Hyundai Chairman Chung Ki-sun, right, and participants of a ceremony celebrating the conglomerate’s 5,000th ship export take part in a tree-planting event to mark the milestone at HD Hyundai Heavy Industries’ headquarters in Ulsan, Wednesday. Courtesy of HD Hyundai.

HD Hyundai on Wednesday celebrated the milestone of building and exporting its 5,000th ship since delivering its first vessel in 1974, after handing over an offshore patrol vessel to the Philippine Navy, calling the achievement “unprecedented in the global shipbuilding industry.”

HD Hyundai Heavy Industries, a shipbuilding subsidiary under the HD Hyundai group, delivered the Diego Silang to the Philippine Navy last month. The ship measures 118.4 meters in length and 14.9 meters in width, has a cruising speed of 28 kilometers per hour and a range of 8,330 kilometers. The delivery came after the vessel was completed and launched in March.

HD Hyundai has secured contracts with the Philippine Navy to build 10 ships for the Southeast Asian fleet.

The ceremony took place at HD Hyundai Heavy Industries’ shipyard in Ulsan. HD Hyundai Chairman Chung Ki-sun, Industry Ministry Director General Park Dong-il, Korea Ocean Business Corp. CEO Ahn Byung-gil and Korea Marine Transport Chairman Park Jong-seug attended the event.

The Diego Silang, an offshore patrol vessel, produced by HD Hyundai Heavy Industries and delivered to the Philippine Navy in October / Courtesy of HD Hyundai

The conglomerate’s first export vessel was the 260,000-ton Very Large Crude Oil Carrier Atlantic Baron. Since then, HD Hyundai has delivered ships to more than 700 shipowners across 68 countries.

Over the past half century, HD Hyundai Heavy Industries has delivered 2,631 vessels. Its other shipbuilding subsidiaries, HD Hyundai Mipo and HD Hyundai Samho, have delivered 1,570 and 799 vessels, respectively. Last year, the three subsidiaries together delivered 144 vessels, including container ships, liquefied natural gas carriers and product carriers.

HD Hyundai emphasized that its export record has not been matched even by shipbuilders in Europe or Japan, which have longer histories in the sector.

“Our 5,000-vessel milestone represents the pride of Korea’s shipbuilding industry and the history of bold challenges that have reshaped the global maritime paradigm. Building on this shared legacy of innovation, we will move confidently toward the next 5,000 vessels and the next half century," Chung said during the ceremony.