Slowing global economic conditions have caused business to dry up for shipbuilders worldwide.And as the crisis deepens, Korean shipbuilders, who lead the global shipbuilding industry, are diving deeper for opportunities.
The bigger players, like Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering, are tapping into the manufacturing of marine engineering equipment.
"This is one of the largest ongoing projects, here at the Daewoo shipyard. Right behind me you can see what's called a floating production and offloading vessel. It can store up to 1.8 million barrels of oil, which is roughly the amount that the entire Korean population uses in a single day."
The vessel, valued at around two billion U.S. dollars, is one of the offshore plants being built at the shipyard.
Offshore plants allow for the refining and storage of natural gas and crude oil to be conducted at sea because the drilling equipment and refineries are installed on the vessel.
With the global offshore plant market expected to be valued at around 500 billion U.S. dollars in 2030, the larger shipyards are delving into the manufacturing of these marine oil producing tools.
Park Dong-hyuk, Executive Vice President Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering
"As oil prices continue to rise, oil producers are going deeper into the sea. With this, the demand for the equipment used to develop underwater oil fields like offshore plants.. is rising."
Another Korean shipbuilder is developing eco-friendly solutions to overcome the current crisis.
With eco-friendly ships that cut carbon dioxide emissions by 45 percent, boost fuel-efficiency by 40 percent, and reduce fuel costs by up to 50 percent, STX Offshore and Shipbuilding have recorded a 30 percent on-year growth in sales in the first half of the year.
Hong Man-sun, Outdoor Production Division Vice President STX Offshore & Shipbuilding
"With strengthened global regulations for the environment, there is a rising demand for vessels that save fuel costs and emit fewer pollutants. Building highly-efficient eco-friendly vessels is how we are surviving in this market."
The company is seeing its order book expand, and says it has already secured enough orders for the next two years.
It's a relief, because experts don't expect conditions for the shipbuilding industry to improve any time soon.
"Unfortunately, not many people are predicting better economic conditions next year, including our research institute. Shipbuilding orders will probably pick up the year after, but even if that's the case, ship buyers will be very cautious about placing orders in the beginning. Considering that, I think the shipbuilding industry won't pick up until at least after 2014."
Until then, the fight for survival in what seems to be a contracting market is on, because looking at the current state of the global shipbuilding industry, only the fittest will be able to weather the storm.