South Korea: HD Hyundai becomes world’s 1st shipbuilder to deliver 5,000 vessels

November 20, 2025, by Naida Hakirevic Prevljak

South Korea’s HD Hyundai has become the world’s first shipbuilder to build and deliver 5,000 ships, marking half a century since its first vessel delivery in 1974.

On November 19, 2025, the company held a ceremony in Ulsan to celebrate the milestone.

The 5,000th vessel delivered by HD Hyundai is the second offshore patrol vessel built for the Philippine Navy, the Diego Silang. Launched in March and delivered to the Philippine Navy in October, the vessel measures 118.4 meters in length, 14.9 meters in width, has a cruising speed of 15 knots (28 km/h), and a range of 4,500 nautical miles (8,330 km). HD Hyundai has secured orders for a total of ten naval vessels from the Philippines.

Starting with the 260,000-ton ultra-large crude oil tanker Atlantic Baron in 1974, HD Hyundai has delivered ships to more than 700 shipowners in 68 countries. Specifically, 2,631 ships have been delivered by HD Hyundai Heavy Industries, 1,570 by HD Hyundai Mipo, and 799 by HD Hyundai Samho.

The South Korean shipbuilder has emphasized that Europe and Japan, countries with much longer shipbuilding histories than Korea, have not achieved a similar record.

Assuming an average vessel length of 250 meters, the combined length of 5,000 ships reaches approximately 1,250 kilometers. This distance exceeds the straight-line distance from Seoul to Tokyo (about 1,150 kilometers) and is more than 140 times the height of Mount Everest (approximately 8,800 meters).

“Our 5,000-vessel milestone represents the pride of Korea’s shipbuilding industry and the history of bold challenges that have reshaped the global maritime paradigm,” Chung Kisun, HD Hyundai Chairman

“Building on this shared legacy of innovation, we will move confidently toward the next 5,000 vessels—and the next half century.”

Meanwhile, HD Hyundai’s three shipbuilding subsidiaries delivered a total of 144 vessels in 2024, including containerships, LNG carriers, and product carriers.

Globally, China maintains its position as the world’s top shipbuilding nation, followed by South Korea and Japan. India is emerging as a promising shipbuilding nation as well, as it recently committed billions of US dollars to rejuvenating its shipbuilding and maritime ecosystem.