Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co., South Korea’s third-largest shipyard, is set to win its first order to build a cruise ship, industry sources said Tuesday.
According to the sources, the shipbuilder is in talks with a Greek firm over the deal, estimated at US$600 million.
“Negotiations are underway… we can’t provide any further information on it,” said a company official.
Daewoo Shipbuilding, if it wins the deal, will be the latest South Korean shipyard to tap the lucrative cruise ship-making business.
In November, STX Europe AS, the European unit of South Korea’s STX Group, handed over the world’s largest cruise ship to Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd.
The vessel, named the Oasis of the Seas, is the world’s largest cruise ship with the capacity to accommodate 6,360 passengers and 2,100 crew.
Last month, Samsung Heavy Industries Co., the world’s second-largest shipyard, also said it won a $1.1 billion order to build a cruise ship for a U.S. company.
European yards in Italy, France, Germany and Finland garner a large share of the cruise ship-making sector. In terms of revenue, cruise ships account for 20 per cent of the global shipbuilding market.
