Explore the world's largest shipyard

The world's largest shipyard in South Korea is a place that combines classic shipbuilding with technological innovations in the 21st century.

The world's largest shipyard in Korea

Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) in Ulsan, South Korea owns the world's largest shipyard. This is the place where giant ships like Globe are produced, the largest ship in the world in operation in December 2014.

Vessels transport 90% of world trade goods. To compete with other shipbuilders, HHI combines classic shipbuilding with many modern innovations of the 21st century.

Large cranes have 180m long cranes, which transport thousands of tons of steel around the plant. They operate faster and more accurately than humans.

In HHI's research and development lab, even the propellers are being transferred technology, to improve its energy efficiency.

The propeller rotates at high speed causing the water behind it to lose pressure and turn into steam, forming air bubbles. When air bubbles break, they form shock waves that can damage the propeller blades.

A tiny new turbine in development will be placed on the top of the 8-meter-high standard propeller version. Computer simulations show that the water created by small turbines helps prevent the creation of unwanted water bubbles. This improvement will help save energy for future vessels.