Multiple shipbuilding industry officials told Aju Business on the 16th that yards are holding out on inventories for now, but prolonged supply problems could first hit steel-cutting operations. “This month is the deadline,” they said.
Officials pointed to the biggest pressure point: most shipyards are in a “full capacity” situation with docks filled by increased orders. With schedules tightly packed, any disruption in raw materials could delay processes and ripple through overall build timelines.
At shipyards, ethylene is used to cut steel plates. Because shipbuilding steel is typically thick and difficult to process with standard cutting methods, builders use ethylene to raise flame temperatures from about 1,000 degrees to as high as 1,500 degrees before cutting plates to drawings. Since cutting steel to specification is a basic step in ship construction, ethylene is considered indispensable.
The supply instability stems from the Middle East conflict, which has shaken feedstock flows. South Korea relies heavily on imports for ethylene, and more than half of those imports pass through the Strait of Hormuz.
The industry also warns that if the situation drags on, it could affect “Masga,” a South Korea-U.S. shipbuilding cooperation project that includes ship construction and maintenance, repair and overhaul work.
One industry official said most yards are already operating at full tilt, so a prolonged raw-materials problem could weigh on major project schedules. “How long the supply instability lasts is the key,” the official said.
The government is monitoring the situation and has begun responding. The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy is checking supply conditions after receiving a request from the Korea Offshore & Shipbuilding Association to urgently secure ethylene volumes needed for shipbuilding cutting work.
Baek Jeom-gi, a professor of naval architecture and ocean engineering at Pusan National University, said stockpiles are helping for now, but there is little cushion. With shipbuilding increasingly viewed as a strategic cooperation industry with the United States, he said, raw-material supply issues also require a national-level response.
Industry officials also say a prolonged ethylene shortage could spread beyond shipbuilding to other manufacturing. Ethylene is a key basic feedstock used to produce plastics and synthetic resins and is widely used in products ranging from automobiles and construction materials to home appliances, smartphones, food, detergents and cosmetics.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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