HD Hyundai Drops $449m Cochin Joint Venture for a $4bn Indian Yard

HD Hyundai Heavy Industries is withdrawing from a planned joint venture with India's state-owned Cochin Shipyard to manufacture ship hull blocks, redirecting its Indian investment into a large-scale yard built with a state government instead.

HD Hyundai Group has scrapped plans for the joint venture, valued at approximately 620bn won, about $449m, although the two companies will continue to collaborate on technical matters including design and procurement support. A representative said the group signed a memorandum of understanding with Cochin Shipyard in July 2025 covering design, procurement support, production efficiency improvements and shipbuilding workforce training, and that following further discussions a decision was taken to terminate preparations for the joint venture hull block plant.

The abandoned project was to have built a block fabrication facility with annual capacity of 120,000 tonnes on an 80-acre site adjacent to Cochin Shipyard. It received in-principle approval under India's National Shipbuilding Mission in July 2026 and was intended to work alongside the Kochi yard's Dry Dock No 3 in support of large commercial vessel construction.

South Korean industry analysts read the reversal as a calculated move rather than a retreat. Owning a large yard in India offers a greater strategic position in the local market than an equity stake in auxiliary production facilities, and the group plans to reallocate the capital and technical personnel earmarked for the block factory to the wholly owned project.

The existing partnership survives the change. HD Hyundai Heavy Industries will continue to provide technical support to Cochin Shipyard, including basic design and the supply of Everllence-licensed engines, to help the Indian yard advance its project for six 1,700 teu feeder container ships for CMA CGM.

The priority is now a wholly owned yard in the Tuticorin region of Tamil Nadu. With total investment of $4bn, the greenfield cluster is planned for annual capacity of 2.5m gross tons. Tamil Nadu is one of the sites selected by the Indian government for a shipbuilding industrial cluster, and the state attracted the investment with incentives, subsidies and infrastructure. Tuticorin was judged suitable in part because its temperature and precipitation closely resemble conditions at HD Hyundai's Ulsan yard.

India currently ranks between 20th and 22nd globally in shipbuilding, with less than 1% of the new construction market. The country spends about $70bn to $75bn a year on overseas shipping services, while only around 7% of ships owned by Indian owners are built domestically. New Delhi has committed $3bn in direct shipbuilding subsidies and $2.4bn in infrastructure investment running through 2036, with a target of a top-ten position by 2030.