Corporate agency in the Arctic: South Korean shipyards and Russian oil and gas projects

Abstract

As Russia accelerated Arctic hydrocarbon development, year-round marine transport in ice-covered waters became a binding constraint. This article explores how South Korean shipbuilders – particularly Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (DSME; now Hanwha Ocean) – became pivotal suppliers of icebreaking LNG carriers and ice-class tankers for Russian Arctic projects, especially the Yamal LNG Arc7 carrier program. Using a qualitative case-study design that combines document analysis with semi-structured interviews and secondary literature, it engages debates in Arctic political economy concerning the role of state–chaebol coordination in shaping industrial outcomes. The argument is made that Korea’s major commercial breakthroughs in Russian Arctic shipping were driven largely by firm-level technological innovation and industrial partnerships among multinational stakeholders – with particular analytical focus on Japanese and Chinese actors – which together enabled Russian Arctic projects to proceed despite sanctions, technical complexity, and environmental constraints. Throughout this process, state involvement remained limited in scope and largely followed, rather than preceded, these technological and commercial developments. The article thus highlights the limits of state-centric explanations and underscores the importance of firm-level agency and transnational industrial collaboration in Arctic energy development.