Photo of Hanwha Ocean’s Geoje Shipyard in South Korea, which recently obtained the Master Ship Repair Agreement. Photo via Hanwha Ocean
By Sudarshan Varadhan
SINGAPORE, March 24 (Reuters) – U.S. allies Japan and South Korea would struggle to quickly ramp up shipbuilding to meet U.S. demand for alternatives under President Donald Trump’s plan to impose port fees on China-linked ships, a top Japanese shipping executive said on Monday.
The Trump administration is drafting an executive order in a bid to revive domestic shipbuilding and weaken China’s grip on the industry.
Japanese shipbuilding is running near full capacity, with little scope for expansion until 2028, while shipbuilders in South Korea, as well as in the U.S., face financial challenges, said Takaya Soga, CEO of Nippon Yusen (NYK) 9101.T, Japan’s largest shipping line.
“The capacity of Japanese shipbuilding is almost full at the moment, until say 2028. So it is not so easy for them to increase the capacity,” Soga told Reuters on the sidelines of the Singapore Maritime Week conference.
(c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2025.
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