Financially troubled yard STX Offshore & Shipbuilding is being linked to a shock switch to exit ship construction and instead focus on repair or block manufacturing, according to Korean shipbuilding news site Asiasis.
The yard has recently entered court receivership, having been under creditor-led restructuring since April 2013 and has seen a significant chunk of its orderbook cancelled by owners this year.
The yard, which used to be the fourth largest in the world, has received no new orders this year.
Asiasis noted the shipbuilder has the capacity to be a ship repair yard with a floating dock, floating cranes and a suitable workforce. Moreover, its proximity to Busan port would give it potentially plenty of business.
Other Korean yards who have seen their orderbooks disappear in recent months are also looking at reentering the ship repair sector, Asiasis reported.
