Surplus Korean steel plate heading for Chinese yards

 Korea's Hyundai Steel plans to start selling heavy steel plate for shipbuilding in the second quarter of 2010 after it receives certification by classification societies  Korean Register, ClassNK and Germanischer Lloyd. According to the company, its heavy plate production next year may reach 1.05 million tonnes with 600,000 to 700,000 tonnes destined for shipbuilding.

The move comes at a time of falling domestic demand for heavy steel plate from Korean shipbuilders, prompting industry magazine Steel Guru to predict increasing exports of plate from Korean steel mills to Chinese shipyards.

Source: Sea trade