South Korea announces shot in the arm for domestic carriers
Five-year plan to heavily subsidise domestic shipping companies is a major national commitment to the maritime industry.
South Korea has announced that it will heavily subsidise its domestic shipping industry in an effort to turn the country into a “global shipping powerhouse” by 2030.
The plan covers the whole breadth of the industry from newbuild financing for Korean shipowners to freight subsidies for Korean shippers.
The country aims to have a domestically-controlled fleet totalling 140 million dwt and container ship fleet with a capacity of 1.5 millionj TEU.
Policy bank, KOBC, will also aid the national effort by buying ten ships a year through 2025 and leasing them to Korean lines on “reasonable charter rates” on a bareboat charter basis.
“In the first half of the five-year plan period, our focus was to restore the status of our shipping industry to the level where it was prior to the collapse of Hanjin Shipping; however, in the remaining second half, our focus will be on the successful implementation of policy agendas set forth under this strategy with an aim of becoming a global shipping powerhouse,” said Oceans and Fisheries Minister Moon Seong-Hyeok.
