A Returner’s Successful Investment Method - Chapter 601



Only Krnovel

Episode 601 Hwaan Group (10)

[(WST Exclusive) Neverland Suez Canal stranding and oil spill, high possibility of ship defect!]

(strategy)

When you think of the largest object created by humans, you usually think of a skyscraper soaring into the sky.

However, there is something that is just as big as that: a ship.

The size of container ships currently floating on the sea is beyond imagination.

In the case of large container ships, the length is 399.9 meters and the width is 60 meters.

Typically, buildings exceeding 200 meters are called skyscrapers, and buildings exceeding 400 meters are called high-rise skyscrapers. A ship floating on the sea is larger than most buildings.

At this point, it is literally like a moving island.

With current technology, it is possible to make it even bigger than this.

However, ships larger than this are rarely built.

The reason is that the SuezMAX standard for passing through the Suez Canal is set at 400 meters.

The Neverland is a container ship with a length of 399.94 meters and a width of 58.8 meters, and was built to meet the Suez Max specifications.

So what moves this huge ship?

To move a huge ship, a huge amount of fuel is needed.

When petroleum is refined, fuel is produced in the following order: LPG, gasoline, naphtha, kerosene, diesel, and heavy oil.

Among these, the last heavy oil is further divided into classes A, B, and C, and ships use this class C heavy oil as fuel.

This is commonly called Bunker C U.

Bunker C oil is a low-grade fuel with many impurities. Nevertheless, the reason ships use it as fuel is because it is cheap.

As criticism poured in that the exhaust fumes emitted by ships were the main cause of air pollution, the International Maritime Organization (IMO) lowered the sulfur emission standard from 3.5 percent to 0.7 percent, one-seventh of the previous level.

In order to meet strengthened regulations, low-sulfur oil must be used.

However, diesel and kerosene are more expensive than bunker C oil.

The cost burden leads to a decline in transportation competitiveness.

Additionally, in the case of existing ships, engine replacement is virtually impossible.

Therefore, instead of continuing to use existing bunker C oil, ships installed a device called a scrubber.

This is a device that washes away exhaust fumes with seawater. In short, it sends pollutants that would otherwise spread into the atmosphere into the sea.

These scrubbers are divided into two types: open and closed.

The open scrubber flows the contaminated water directly into the sea, while the closed scrubber stores the contaminated water inside the ship.

The Neverland was using the open scrubber method.

However, Egyptian authorities strictly prohibit the discharge of contaminated water while passing through the Suez Canal to prevent contaminated water from contaminating the canal.

Therefore, ships using open scrubbers must use low-sulfur oil instead of bunker C oil while passing through the canal.

Neverland’s engine was built to use both high-sulfur and low-sulfur oil. However, since it was originally optimized for bunker C oil, it is highly likely that problems will arise when using low-sulfur oil.

It is analyzed that due to this difference in fuel characteristics, the engine was damaged or its output was weakened, causing it to lose propulsion, and due to strong winds, the hull tilted to starboard and collided with the embankment.

In the process, the hull was damaged and the worst situation occurred, with Bunker C oil leaking into the canal.

The Egyptian government has even mobilized military units to tackle oil slicks, and experts from around the world are being deployed to repair the ship’s hull, but it is unknown when operations in the Suez Canal will normalize.

One shipping industry official said this about this incident:

‘We are already familiar with the frequent breakdowns of ships built by Chinese shipbuilders. However, it is absurd that even ships from Japanese shipbuilders, who are said to have excellent craftsmanship and good quality, have this problem. It is believed that there were overall problems with the shipyard’s basic design ability, quality, and inspection process. In the future, quality will become as important as price when ordering ships in the future, as ship owners will have to bear the risks related to compensation for damages.’

(syncopation)

Ultimately, this incident was caused by a man-made disaster, not a natural disaster.

Regarding this, Japan’s Marukawa Shipbuilding and Taiwan’s Neverblue Shipping, which built the Neverland, have not revealed their specific positions.

Sometimes a picture is more powerful than a thousand words.

The sight of black oil streaks spreading across the canal was shocking in itself.

Environmental groups immediately rose up and public opinion boiled over.

-So, instead of throwing the exhaust into the air using a device called a scrubber, you’re throwing it into the sea?

-What is the difference between open and closed?

-The open type means throwing it straight into the sea. The closed type collects it in the hull and sends it out to sea to be discarded.

-LOL In the end, we end up throwing it all into the sea.

-No, does this make sense? We need to stop the smoke from coming out, so what if we throw it into the sea?

-They say the exhaust fumes from one container ship are equivalent to 500,000 dump trucks.

-Cars are changing to electric vehicles, so what are boats doing?

-You can’t believe an accident like this happened because a boat wasn’t built properly. Tsk tsk!

-Where has Japanese craftsmanship gone?

* * *

IMO (International Maritime Organization).

Established in 1958, it is an international organization under the UN responsible for safety, security, and prevention of marine pollution at sea. All countries engaging in maritime trade are members and follow the decisions made here.

The current Secretary General is Korean and his name is Tak Im-gu.

Because the situation was so serious, an emergency general meeting was held in London, where the IMO headquarters is located.

After the two-day general meeting ended, Secretary General Tak Im-gu went to the media and personally announced this.

“The number of ships equipped with scrubbers is increasing, but this is not a fundamental solution. In order to move towards carbon neutrality, we must increase the use of LNG and hydrogen fuel. IMO decided to advance the halving of international shipping carbon emissions by 2050 by 15 years to 2035, and to introduce additional regulatory measures, such as a carbon fee system, for ships that fail to meet this target. In addition, we will strengthen safety and operation regulations for all ships currently in operation to prevent such accidents from occurring again.”

The shipping industry was shaken by this news.

Currently, the proportion of ships built more than 15 years ago is 38 percent.

If we look at container ships alone, it is a whopping 44%!

If safety regulations are strengthened immediately, extensive repairs will be required. Considering the time and cost involved, it is better to buy a new one.

The time to reduce carbon emissions is being accelerated, and ships currently under construction will also be affected.

Existing ships in operation will have to pay a carbon fee from 2035, which will soon lead to an increase in transportation costs.

Meanwhile, technology development for eco-friendly ships has been actively conducted, and LNG-propelled ships have also been built.

However, although there are many LNG carriers on the sea, there are only about 150 LNG propulsion ships.

The reason is that the price of the ship is about 30% higher and the cost of fuel is high, making it less economical compared to existing ships.

However, shipping companies are now required to operate LNG-propelled ships in order to avoid having to pay a carbon fee.

The problem is that there are only a few shipbuilders in the world that can build these LNG propulsion ships.

And among these, Hwaan Ocean is included.

In addition, Hwaan Ocean was in the process of developing a hydrogen propulsion ship and carrier, and signed an MOU with Aramco for this purpose.

The amount of smoke from an LNG-propelled ship is less than 1/100th of that of bunker C oil, but it still emits carbon.

But hydrogen can solve all these problems.

Currently, the most advanced company in terms of hydrogen energy is Hwaan Energy, and under it is Hwaan Ocean.

Stocks live on expectations.

What is more important than immediate sales and profits is the future outlook.

Until before, Hwaan Ocean was a company that was suffering from debt and worried about receiving orders.

But not anymore.

We are in a situation where we can choose to receive orders due to the pouring amount of orders.

There is no longer any need to compete for low-price orders, so you can get the right price.

Hwaan Ocean CEO Bang Soo-hwan immediately called Heo Min-woong and shouted.

“Hwaan Ocean is now alive!”

* * *

[IMO strengthens environmental regulations! A huge boost for Korean shipbuilders!]

[Korea’s shipbuilding industry is the world’s best in terms of technology and quality!]

[Is Korea’s shipbuilding industry starting a super cycle?]

As the replacement cycle for old ships is accelerated and orders for eco-friendly, high-value-added ships are expected to increase, the stock prices of the three Korean shipbuilding companies soared at the same time.

Among these, Hwaan Ocean has risen the most as it has been undervalued compared to other shipbuilding companies.

-crazy! Is Hwaan Ocean reaching its upper limit?

-Hwaan Energy is also skyrocketing by 20%!

-Tell China and Japan to go away! Korean shipbuilders are the best!

-How can something like this happen as soon as we take over? Did you take over knowing this would happen?

-Didn’t Heo Min-woong intentionally ask the captain of the Neverland to hit him as it passed through the Suez Canal?

-LOL Is this real? Did you order a roadblock to save Hwaan Ocean?

-What kind of bastard has been swearing at Heo Min-woong all this time? ah! It was me. I’m sorry, President Heo Min-woong. I had no idea that you had such great intentions.

-haha! How can a sparrow understand the great meaning of the phoenix?

-If Thisla has Allen Everhart, Hwaan Energy has Heo Min-woong!

-Oh oh! Heo Min-woong!

-I am the crazy one who sold it out because I lacked faith.

-Please continue to lead Hwaan Energy for 1,000,000 years.

-Oi-oi! I trusted my brother Woong!

– Heo Min-woong, an investor who sees the future!

* * *

Chairman Heo Seong-hoon laughed.

“haha… … .”

This is truly unbelievable.

Hwaan Energy’s sole acquisition of Daeho Shipbuilding was clearly unreasonable.

If things had continued like this, the debt problem would have arisen within a year, and without external support, it would have collapsed altogether.

However, something unexpected happened that opened the way for Hwaan Ocean’s revival.

If we had not acquired it then, we would have had to acquire it later at a more expensive price.

How could Heo Min-woong make such a decision?

Of course, there was Han Miru’s advice and help here.

But in any case, it was Heo Min-woong himself who made the decision.

‘Would I really have been able to do that?’

This incident was just luck.

However, management is not a process, but rather a result.

Heo Min-woong proudly showed the results.

Chairman Heo Seong-hoon recalled his son raising his voice in response to his scolding.

‘I thought he was just a childish person… … .’

Rather, I thought that maybe I wasn’t able to see him properly because he was my father.

I think it’s time to make a decision.

After finishing his thoughts, Chairman Heo Seong-hoon made a call somewhere.

“If time permits, can I take a look?”