South Korea’s HD KSOE Teams Up with Cochin Shipyard Limited for Vessel Construction Collaboration
South Korea’s HD Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering (HD KSOE), an arm of HD Hyundai, has joined forces with Cochin Shipyard Limited (CSL), the largest state-owned shipbuilder in India, to set up long-term cooperation in the vessel construction sector.
As disclosed, the deal marks a ‘full-scale’ entry into the market for the South Korean company, and represents another effort of HD Hyundai to strengthen its foothold in the global shipbuilding arena.
Under the terms of the memorandum of understanding that HD KSOE and Cochin Shipyard inked, the two parties are set to pursue cooperation across a wide range of areas, including ship design and procurement support for CSL, technical collaboration to improve productivity and ensure “global-quality” standards, and workforce training programs.
As part of the agreement, together, HD KSOE and CSL will reportedly also examine novel shipbuilding orders in both the Indian and international markets.
The bipartite initiative is said to be in line with maritime development roadmaps in India, including the Maritime India Vision 2030″ and the “Maritime Amrit Kaal Vision 47”, which were both unpacked by the country’s Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways to foster growth in the industry.
With India’s shipbuilding sector experiencing increased growth, ballooning to over $1.12 billion in 2024 from $90 million in 2022, the country’s government has taken numerous steps to support the proposed visions.
In February 2025, for example, a Maritime Development Fund (MDF) worth approximately $2.9 billion was established with its primary target being new vessel acquisitions. However, the MDF was also envisioned to support new green shipping initiatives, modernizing the old and building new ports, et cetera.
In March, India pledged a massive $23.8 billion investment aimed at transforming the country into a major player in global shipbuilding and maritime trade. According to MoPSW, the financing is to be used to support the creation of four million gross registered tonnage (GRT) in vessel construction capacity.
At the time, the country’s government also reassessed its Shipbuilding Financial Assistance Policy (SBFAP) to support domestic shipyards. Against the backdrop of this, India’s Right of Refusal (RoFR) policy recalibrated, giving top priority to domestically-build, Indian-flagged and Indian-owned ships when awarding government contracts.
India’s Maritime Sector Development and Investments
More recently, namely at the very end of June this year, MoPSW inaugurated the Sagarmala Finance Corporation Limited (SMFCL), hailing it as the nation’s first non-banking financial company (NBFC) in the maritime sector. SMFLC is to focus on sustainable development, shipbuilding, maritime growth, innovation, national logistics efficiency projects, and cruise tourism.
On the other hand, South Korea has sustained its status as the second-largest shipbuilder in the world, firmly trailing only China in both new orders and backlog exposure. By near-end of 2024, it was revealed that yards based in the country had secured 29% of global newbuilding orders, which represents 1.14 million compensated gross tons (CGT).
In March this year, South Korean government unpacked a plan to invest around $152.89 million to support the building or conversion of 81 eco-friendly ships.
Per the country’s Ministry of Ocean and Fisheries (MOF), the strategy is part of an existing policy that encourages the private sector (especially small and medium-sized coastal shipping players that choose alternative fuels like liquefied natural gas or electric propulsion for their units) to focus on green shipbuilding.
Conclusion
The collaboration between HD KSOE and Cochin Shipyard Limited signifies a significant step towards enhancing shipbuilding capabilities and fostering growth in the maritime industry. With India and South Korea both making substantial investments in their respective sectors, the partnership is poised to drive innovation and sustainability in vessel construction.