Hyundai to build new drydock

The world’s biggest shipbuilder Hyundai Heavy Industries will be further expanding facilities to ensure capacity as demand for newbuildings continues to boom. HHI said today that its board has approved a KRW407Bn ($433M) yard at Gunsan on the west coast. The proposed drydock will measure only slightly less than the existing biggest dock - the No. 3 dock in Ulsan – which is 640 m long and 92 m wide. Market sources told Fairplay that the planned facility will be able to build 20 ships a year. The new yard is in addition to the new facility that will come up at Ulsan, which is expected to be operational next year. The Ulsan dock will be dedicated to offshore construction and large container ships. Hyundai won orders worth $26Bn in 2007. HHI also owns Samho, which can build up to 30 ships a year and will also be expanding and upgrading its facilities.