Overview
K Shipbuilding at Jinhae on the Korean south coast is the restructured successor to STX Offshore & Shipbuilding, which entered court receivership in 2016. Under new ownership since 2019 the yard has re-oriented around mid-sized product tankers (MR and LR1), chemical tankers, and PCTCs, plus limited naval work for the Korean Navy. Output is a fraction of the Big Three Korean yards but the order book has been steadily rebuilt and the yard is now consistently in the top 15 global builders by CGT.
Key facts
- Jinhae, South Korea
- Successor to STX Offshore & Shipbuilding (2019 restructuring)
- MR + LR1 product tankers, chemical tankers, PCTCs
- Limited Korean Navy work
- Recovered order book since 2020
Why it matters to seafarers
Product-tanker and chemical-tanker officers on Korean-built mid-size tonnage will increasingly see K Shipbuilding hulls entering the fleet. The yard's post-restructuring build quality is well regarded, and pump-room and cargo-manifold arrangements follow standard KR/ABS mid-size tanker conventions.