DSME to manage state-owned shipyard in Iran

Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (DSME) has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Iranian government to run the Iran Shipbuilding & Offshore Industries Complex (ISOICO).

Under the agreement, the South Korean shipbuilder will also bring manufacturing technology to the Iranian shipyard in order to modernise facilities at the site, which is located in 37 km west of Bandar Abbas on the shores of the Middle East Gulf.

ISOICO is currently capable of constructing up to four 80,000-dwt vessels per year and is able to build bulk carriers, containerships and product tankers, but has ambitions to build larger and more sophisticated vessels.

The state-run Industrial Development and Renovation Organization of Iran (IDRO), which is responsible for the nation’s strategic industries such as automobiles and shipbuilding, is also seeking to form a partnership with the Korean shipbuilder, DSME officials told press in Korea.

IDRO wants to acquire technology and shipyard management expertise from DSME and other companies in order to transform Iran into a shipbuilding hub in the Middle East, reports say. IDRO has also reportedly requested that DSME invest in manufacturing and sourcing materials in Iran.

In early May, DSME was rumoured to be close to sealing an order from Iran for for five jack-ups from Iran’s state run national oil firm, worth a total of $1.14bn.