Brazilian Shipbuilder Plagued by Strikes and Financial Issues Requests Help from Samsung Heavy

SEOUL (Dow Jones)–Samsung Heavy Industries Co. (010140.SE), the world’s second-largest shipbuilder by sales, said Wednesday it is considering a request for help from Brazilian shipbuilder Estaleiro AtlanticoSul, or EAS.

“We are giving the request serious consideration but have not reached any decision yet,” company spokesman Hwang In-chan said by telephone.

According to a report Wednesday in the Maeil Business Newspaper, EAS recently missed delivery deadlines for 18 of 22 vessels as a result of a strike and the continuing euro-zone crisis.

EAS was not immediately reachable.

The EAS shipyard in Suape, in the south of the country, was completed by the Brazil government in 2005. Samsung Heavy has since offered technical support to the yard, Hwang said.

Samsung Heavy, which paid $22 million for a 10% stake in EAS in 2008, now holds 6%, he added.

-By Kyong-Ae Choi, Dow Jones Newswires

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