South Korea’s HD Hyundai is set to restart large-scale shipbuilding in the Philippines from January next year, with a revamped Subic Bay yard capable of turning out up to 10 vessels annually.
The shipbuilding giant has signed a 10-year lease for 200 hectares from Agila Subic, a Cerberus-owned operator of the former Hanjin shipyard, and will invest around $550m over the next decade. The facility will initially produce product tankers up to 250 m in length, with build times of 16–18 months.
HD Hyundai has already hired 3,500 workers, with training underway for welders and other trades. The yard is expected to employ about 7,000 at full capacity, smaller than the 13,000-strong workforce Hanjin Heavy Industries once maintained before shutting down in 2019 under a mountain of debt. Much of the Hanjin-era infrastructure, including heavylift cranes, remains in place after being acquired by Cerberus from creditors.
President Ferdinand Marcos hailed the project when it was announced in May 2024, describing it as a chance to “bring maritime manufacturing back to Subic” and ensure “the ships run by Filipinos can also be made by Filipinos.”
The Philippines, the world’s largest source of seafarers, ranked seventh in global shipbuilding output in 2022, far below its previous capacity. Officials hope the HD Hyundai deal will revive competitiveness by pairing South Korean know-how with Filipino labour.
Cerberus bought the defunct Hanjin Subic Bay shipyard in 2022, one of the largest shipbuilding bases in Southeast Asia, located at a former US navy base to the north of the capital, Manila.
The huge yard in Subic Bay delivered its first ship in 2008 and is capable of building the largest ships afloat having delivered a 20,000 teu ship and a series of VLCCs in the past.
Subic’s revival is already drawing orders. Japanese owner Nissen Kaiun has booked two LR2 tankers at the yard for delivery in Q1 2028, while Hong Kong’s Cido Shipping has signed for four tankers.
HD Hyundai’s expansion into the Philippines forms part of a broader push into emerging shipbuilding nations. As Splash has reported, the group is also seeking long-term rights to operate Morocco’s flagship Casablanca yard, has struck deals with Cochin Shipyard in India and Edison Chouest Offshore in the US, and is building out its footprint in Vietnam and Saudi Arabia.
