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Korean Register opens Mumbai branch

Korean Register opens Mumbai branch

Mumbai: The Korean Register of Shipping (KR), a classification society and IACS member, announced the opening of its first branch in India at a glittering function in Mumbai on Thursday, April 16, 2009

Addressing a gathering from the Indian maritime community Mr Oh Kong-gyun, Chairman and CEO of KR pointed out that in the twelve years since KR has been a member of IACS, the society had advanced to possess technological competence shoulder to shoulder with other IACS members.

Working closely in Korea with shipbuilders, KR had acquired Technical and Surveying skills and looked forward to sharing these experiences with Indian shipping and shipbuilding industry

Referring to the current global recession, Mr Oh said that on the back of strong domestic demand, industry and infrastructure development India would be one of the first to emerge and KR hoped to be a part of this exciting market.

Mr Oh acknowledged the support from Indian maritime community and would be happy to offer assistance to promote safety on the seas and environment protection.

Citing the strong growth Indian Korean bilateral trade had seen from US$ 9.2bn in 2006 to US$15.6bn in 2008 Mr D Y Kim, Korean Consul General in Mumbai said the branch in Mumbai will enable KR to provide services more effectively to enhance maritime safety and security and classification services.

Also present on the occasion was Mr Sabyasachi  Hajara, Chairman of the Shipping Corporation of India(SCI) and President of the Indian National Shipowners Association (INSA) to welcome and congratulate KR. Pointing out that SCI had 23 ships on order with South Korean yards, Mr Hajara added that the global centre maritime activity had shifted to Asia, and it was a good time to build Asian maritime partnership to further the further Asian voice in world shipping.

Capt J C Anand, Chairman of the Indian Register of Shipping (IRS) with whom KR works closely with in India pointed out that KR and IRS had developed jointly a range of technologies and procedures and that the new office will serve India's maritime community even stronger.  [17/04/09]