Following the announcement of its first letter of intent for an order, the Gunsan Shipyard—a facility closely watched by the South Korean shipbuilding industry—has released further significant news: backed by its new owner, the shipyard is steadily getting back on track.
Recently, JE Ocean Heavy Industries announced the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Ucast, a South Korean provider of private 5G network services. The agreement covers the development of a “smart shipyard” at the Gunsan facility and the implementation of physical AI solutions based on private 5G networks, thereby officially launching the shipyard’s smart transformation project.
JE Ocean Heavy Industries is a new company established by Ecoprime Marine Pacific—the largest shareholder of the mid-sized South Korean shipbuilder HJ Heavy Industries—specifically to acquire the Gunsan Shipyard.
The core of this partnership is to transform the Gunsan Shipyard into a next-generation smart shipyard by combining JE Ocean Heavy Industries’ shipbuilding and offshore engineering capabilities with Ucast’s technologies—specifically private 5G, AI-driven transformation (AX), IoT, and robotics. This initiative aims to boost production efficiency and safety while jointly participating in the South Korean government’s AX pilot project.
Under the agreement, JE Ocean Heavy Industries will provide a demonstration site, production facilities, and shipbuilding process data at its Gunsan shipyard to establish a test platform for smart shipyard construction technologies. Ucast will be responsible for the project’s overall planning and, while deploying the shipyard’s dedicated 5G network, will simultaneously build three major digital systems: a 3D digital twin platform for real-time shipyard-wide management and control, an asset management system based on high-reliability IoT sensors, and a paperless operations management platform.
At the same time, the partners have decided to strengthen the shipyard’s safety management system by establishing an integrated control framework that links AI monitoring systems with IoT sensors—capable of monitoring gas levels and environmental conditions—within confined spaces to prevent major accidents. The project also plans to deploy industrial robots, collaborative robots, autonomous transport robots (AGVs and AMRs), and physical AI across welding, painting, and transport processes, ultimately achieving fully autonomous, intelligent manufacturing throughout the shipyard’s operations.
JE Ocean Heavy Industries stated: “This partnership marks the beginning of applying advanced, dedicated 5G networks and physical AI technology to the Gunsan Shipyard… The company will accelerate its digital transformation to establish a benchmark for next-generation smart shipyards that excel in both production efficiency and safety.”
Records indicate that the Gunsan Shipyard was once the newest facility under HD Hyundai Heavy Industries. Established during the shipbuilding market’s peak prior to the global financial crisis with a total investment of 1.2 trillion KRW, it officially commenced operations in late 2009. As one of the world’s largest single-site shipyards at the time, it boasted an annual production capacity of approximately 20 vessels during its heyday.
Due to the prolonged slump in the global shipbuilding market, orders for the bulk carriers and container ships that formed the shipyard’s core business shrank drastically. Consequently, the facility was forced to suspend operations in 2017, remaining idle until production resumed in October 2022. However, in the nearly four years since restarting, the Gunsan Shipyard has been limited to constructing hull blocks; it lacks the capability to build complete vessels or secure orders for full ship construction.
In March 2026, the Gunsan Shipyard saw a new dawn as HD Hyundai Heavy Industries signed an agreement with Ecoprime Marine Pacific regarding the acquisition of the shipyard’s assets. That June, HD Hyundai Heavy Industries formally sold the Gunsan Shipyard to JE Ocean Heavy Industries for 780 billion KRW, marking the arrival of a new owner; the transaction encompasses all relevant tangible assets of the shipyard and is expected to be completed by December 31, 2026.
Shortly after the acquisition agreement was reached, JE Ocean Heavy Industries announced it had secured letters of intent for four 114,000-DWT crude/product oil tankers for the Gunsan Shipyard. If finalized, this order would represent the shipyard’s first new shipbuilding contract in nearly a decade, potentially signaling a genuine “restart” for this formerly leading shipyard.
According to JE Ocean Heavy Industries’ plans, the Gunsan Shipyard will commence shipbuilding operations in early 2027—following facility maintenance and equipment upgrades—with the first new vessel scheduled for delivery in 2028. The shipyard will be operated jointly with HJ Heavy Industries’ Yeongdo Shipyard, with the aim of creating a world-class shipbuilding group.