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Korean interest

A senior official in the Korean Embassy in New Delhi recently visited the Cochin shipyard, ostensibly to familiarise himself with the activities of the shipyard and the facilities available there.

He was taken around the yard by the CMD of Cochin Shipyard Ltd (CSL), who also explained to the visitor the company's future plans which included, among other things, the construction of large and specialised vessels required in the energy sector, partic ularly for transportation of crude and petroleum products and gas (from Krishna-Godavari, Mahanadi and Kerala-Konkan basins) and for the exploration of oil-fields.

The present state of the CSL, the Korean diplomat must have felt on visiting the yard, resembled the shipyard in his country some 20/25 years ago. The state of the Korean shipyards dramatically changed (for better) since then. The major European yards wi thdrew from the construction of large cargo ships, and the jobs were taken over by the Korean yards.

In the past few years, the Korean yards stepped up their market share, grabbing even orders that earlier would have gone to the Japanese yards. But, then, history repeats itself. Beleaguered by high labour cost and other problems, the Korean yards today face the same kind of problems experienced earlier by the European and Japanese yards. They are now looking at opportunities to offload some of their low-value operations. The Indian yards, it is felt, should be well-suited for grabbing these jobs, provi ded they upgrade their technology, rationalise the work-force and modernise management practices.

No wonder, the visit of the Korean diplomat to the Cochin shipyard has fuelled speculation over a probable tie-up between India's public sector shipbuilding company and the Korean industry. -- Our Bureau