South Korea’s HD Hyundai is preparing to restart large-scale shipbuilding in Subic Bay from January, with a revamped yard set to turn out up to 10 vessels annually, Splash 247 reports.
The company has signed a decade-long lease on 200 hectares from Agila Subic (the Cerberus-owned operator of the former Hanjin facility) and plans to invest about $550m over ten years. The yard will initially focus on building product tankers up to 250 m long, with construction times of 16–18 months.
So far, 3,500 workers have been hired, including welders and skilled trades now undergoing training. At full production, the workforce is expected to reach around 7,000 – smaller than the 13,000 employed under Hanjin before its collapse in 2019. Much of the original heavy-lift equipment remains in place, preserved by Cerberus after acquiring the site from creditors.
President Ferdinand Marcos welcomed the project last year, framing it as a way to “bring maritime manufacturing back to Subic” and ensure that ships operated by Filipinos could also be built by them. The Philippines, the world’s top supplier of seafarers, has slipped to seventh in global shipbuilding output since its peak, and officials hope South Korean expertise paired with local labour can restore competitiveness.
The former US Navy base turned shipyard has a rich legacy – its first vessel launched in 2008, and it has produced 20,000 teu container ships and VLCCs. Orders are already flowing in: Japan’s Nissen Kaiun has booked two LR2 tankers for 2028 delivery, while Hong Kong’s Cido Shipping has ordered four more.
HD Hyundai’s move into the Philippines is part of a wider strategy to expand in emerging shipbuilding nations. As Splash 247 notes, the group is also eyeing long-term operations in Morocco’s Casablanca yard, deepening ties with Cochin Shipyard in India, Edison Chouest Offshore in the US, and expanding in Vietnam and Saudi Arabia.
Picture: REUTERS/Lee Jae-Won
