[Digital Times, Yang Jee-yoon] Shipbuilding and steel makers are strengthening their cooperation as the shipbuilding industry has been in a recession for many years. Shipbuilding prices have been a key criterion for order competitiveness, and it is now making breakthroughs through material development.

According to the shipbuilding and steel industry on October 9, Hyundai Samho Heavy Industries Co., Ltd. applied `step plate`, a new product of POSCO`s new heavy plate (6mm thick steel plate), to one of the recently built VLCCs.

The step plate is an iron plate for connecting thick plates of different thicknesses. Typically, a thick steel plate is applied to the front and back portions of the ship when the ship is dried, and a thinner plate is used for the middle portion. Korean shipyards often connect two parts of the plate by welding, which is often difficult, resulting in a delay in post-processing at the production site. The welding process can be skipped by using the step plate. As a result, the shipbuilder can shorten the production time and reduce the production cost by about KRW 100 million.

Japan, which has built a symbiotic relationship in the shipbuilding and steel industries, has already adopted step plates in production sites. However, POSCO first tried among domestic steel makers. POSCO started the technology development with Hyundai Samho Heavy Industries in 2015 and applied it to the production site after receiving the classification certificate in March. Meanwhile, Hyundai Heavy Industries Group is expected to expand this product to Hyundai Heavy Industries and Hyundai Mipo Shipbuilding based on the experience of building Hyundai Samho Heavy Industries.

POSCO also faces head of shipbuilding in the field of high manganese steel. Manganese steel, which contains about 20% manganese, is a material capable of storing cryogenic liquefied natural gas (LNG) at minus 196 degrees Celsius. The company succeeded in developing a cryogenic storm raining LNG storage tank in June after joint research between POSCO and Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering. Hyundai Shipbuilding also made a fuel tank for the world`s largest LNG propulsion bulk carrier last year by supplying cryogenic high-manganese to POSCO last year.

The fact is that the shipbuilding and steel industry is strengthening cooperation from the development stage of the ship material is analyzed as a result of the mutual interest of both parties. Demand for heavy plate is declining due to difficulties in shipbuilding orders for several years. However, regardless of the shipbuilding market, steel plate prices have been affected by raw material prices such as iron ore.

Especially, when new building prices (new vessel prices) are unusually low at present the cost competitiveness will soon lead to competitiveness in shipbuilding orders. It is for this reason that steel makers and shipbuilders are fighting hard every quarter for steel plate supply prices recently.

An expert of the shipbuilding industry stated, "We are strengthening cooperation with shipyards and materials development in terms of mutual win-win as steel makers are limited in generating profits by supplying only existing plates."

By Yang Ji Yun galileo@


[ copyright ⓒ The Digitaltimes ]