Global shipbuilding and offshore industry faced very tough time last year amid the plunge in new orders for commercial vessles and sustained low oil prices withich lef to erosion of investment in offshore plants. Korea, the global shipbuilding powerhouse, was also reeling from sudden downturn in shipbuilding market in the same way as other shipbuilding countries. However, Korea has suceessfully strenghted corporate competitiveness and stepped up effots to revamp the structure of shipbuilding industry, underpinning world economic recovery, even in the midst of slowdown in shipbuilding market. 

In fact, Korean Shipbuilding & Offshore Industry showed robust performance last year in terms of new order quantity and shibuilding volumes, barring the deficits resulting from weakened profitability in offshore plant. New order figutres suggest that Korea has maintained a position of unrivalled dominance in the market for high value added vessels including ultra large container ships, LNG Carriers, and Oil Tankers.

We take pride in that fact that Korea has secrued strong technological competitiveness in shipbuilding and offshore industry. This year, Korean Shipyards, particulary domestic shipbuilding heavyweights, will place primary focus on filling their orderbooks with high value added vessles requiing cutting edge technologies such as eco-ship, smart ship, LNG fueleed vessles. Moreover Korea has been undergoing rigorous restructuring internally to improve corporate structure in key sectors. Externally, Korea is actively accommodating the changes in shipbuilding and offshore amrket conditions by tapping into its leading edge technologies, know-how and expertise that have been accumulated thus far. Additionally, Korea will press ahead with productivity and process improvement, rationalization of management to boost profitability and spur normallization of businesses this year. 

Korea offshore and shipbuilding association (Koshipa), devoted to the cultivation and advancement of ship building and offshore industry of Korea, will endavor relentlessly this year to help ensure that member companies can deliver even more ecofriendly and higher efficiency vessels to clients while promoting growth in global shipbuilding and offshore industry.

We would like to take this opportunity to say that honored very much to introduce the latest technologies and factors that have shaped competitive advantages of Korean shipbuilding and offshore industry, and KOSHIPA will redouble its effort to help secrure unmatched technological prowess of Korea around the globe.