The South Korean shipping industry is calling on the government to extend financial support to local shippers facing the effects of an industry-wide decline, according to Yonhap News.
"It is urgent to improve the vicious cycle of liquidity facing local shippers," said Lee Jong Chul, chairman of the Korean Shipowners Association. "The shipping industry is very vulnerable to an economic cycle, which means shipping firms cannot survive without financial support."
As the global economy, led by European markets, slowed, most of South Korea's shipping lines faced losses in the second quarter of the year.
The industry also called for a ban on foreign companies bidding on upcoming government shipping contracts.
Despite the difficult shipping market, the South Korean shipbuilding business saw an improvement in competitiveness this year, winning nearly twice as many new orders as Chinese competitors, Yonhap reports.
South Korea received shipbuilding orders worth $16.4 billion, compared with $8.8 billion for China and $2.6 billion for Japan.
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