South Korean shipbuilder Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering (DSME) has penned a business agreement on operation and technology instruction with the Iranian government for Iran Shipbuilding & Offshore Industries Complex Co. (ISOICO), Korean newspaper the Pulse informed.
As reported, the agreement paves the way for DSME to share its technology and conduct consignment management on the Iranian shipbuilder.
The move is triggered by Iran’s desire to modernize its aging dockyards and build bigger ships especially on the back of the lifting of sanctions against the country since January this year.
On the other hand, the deal is believed to have perfect timing for Korean shipbuilders, which are suffering from order slump stemming from industry downturn and overall tonnage oversupply across the board.
Having in mind that majority of shipowners are abstaining from new orders, Iran is anticipated to invest heavily in fleet expansion.
Specifically, Iran is expected to splash some USD 2.5 billion in modernization of its tanker fleet alone. In addition, plans on investing in LNG carriers have been voiced as well.
Iran’s ISOICO has built so far vessels of up to 80,000-dwt and their product portfolio included bulk carriers, containerships and product tankers.
World Maritime News Staff