The Koreans are coming!
The Korean government is inviting tenders for a share of €23 million to embark on a five-year R&D project to establish a viable superyacht building sector in the country. The aim is for an industry to be established that will come to be as influential as its commercial maritime sector has in a relatively short pace of time.
…SuperyachtNews.com has been contacted by Kyle Ryu, of marine consultancy and naval architecture firm, Korea Composite Co. Ltd (KMCP) about a Korean government initiative to establish a vibrant superyacht construction market in the country.
A tendering process to secure funding will open next month, with the R&D project – initially valued at €23 million - stretching out until the end of 2019.
In a document the company supplied SuperyachtNews.com it was stated that the Korean government is planning to support the domestic yacht industry and has planned to create a consortium that deals with competitive superyacht design and building technology. KMCP is notably one of the most experienced companies in project management and consulting that deals with superyachts in Korea.
Ryu went on to explain that the government had identified “small and medium shipbuilding as a new growth engine”.
Many in Greece, the UK and northern Europe will remember a similar project in the 1980s, where Korean investment in a nascent shipbuilding industry created a new world leader and a hegemonic shift from West to East in the construction of maritime vessels. With the commercial model so finely tuned, the Korean executive no doubt feels that a sustained R&D effort can have the same effect on superyacht building.
Hyundai Heavy Industries is one of the behemoths of commercial shipbuilding, whose epicentre is now Korea.
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