An acute labour shortage is leading to project delays at Korean shipyards and the nation is looking further and further afield for staff to help knock out lengthy orderbooks that stretch deep into 2026.
After more than a decade’s slump, the local shipbuilding workforce has been decimated with projections that it is currently more than 10,000 short of what is required. The Korean government has in recent months changed its immigration rules to allow overseas workers in amid reports from brokers that many newbuilding projects are slipping behind schedule.
Across Southeast Asia labourers have been sought from places such as Indonesia, Thailand and the Philippines.
Seoul has also gone further away to find labour sources, turning to landlocked Nepal, with up to 3,000 Nepalis being sought to come and work in South Korea.
According to brokers Braemar, 2021-22 marked the most active period for the global shipbuilding industry since the 2006-08 and 2013-15 booms. As such, major yards’ forward cover now extends well into 2026.
