The Namp'o Shipyard Complex, sometimes known as Nampho Dockyardhttps://www.nknews.org/pro/north-korea-building-new-warship-likely-to-be-countrys-largest-photos-show/ and Nampho Port,https://www.38north.org/2024/11/construction-expands-at-nampho-port/ located in Haean-dong, Hanggu-guyŏk,

Namp'o Nampo (North Korean official spelling: Nampho; ), also spelled Namp'o, is a major city in North Korea which is the country's fourth-largest by population. The city is an important seaport in the country as it lies on the northern shore of the T ...

, is one of

North Korea North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders China and Russia to the north at the Yalu River, Yalu (Amnok) an ...

's primary shipbuilding enterprises, building primarily cargo ships and fishing boats. The facility is served by the

Korean State Railway The Korean State Railway is the operating arm of the Ministry of Railways of North Korea (), commonly called the State Rail () and has its headquarters at Pyongyang, P'yŏngyang. The current Minister of Railways is Chang Jun-song. History 19 ...

via the Namp'o Port station on the P'yŏngnam Line.

History

The site of the shipyard originally housed a small ironworks, which after the collapse of

Japanese rule in Korea From 1910 to 1945, Korea was ruled by the Empire of Japan under the name Chōsen (), the Japanese reading of "Joseon". Japan first took Korea into its sphere of influence during the late 1800s. Both Korea (Joseon) and Japan had been under polic ...

was developed into a shipyard to build and repair marine vessels of various sizes, with the first 1,000-ton ship being built in 1948. Since then, ships up to displacements over ten thousand of tons have been built there, and the facilities have been expanded several times. In addition to ship building and repair, the complex also houses a lighting equipment factory making light fixtures for use aboard marine vessels, as well as workshops for machining, casting, forging and welding components necessary for ship construction and repair, including propellers. On 30 December 2024, the KCNA released photos of Kim Jong-un visiting the shipyard, which was constructing a new ship for the Korean's People's Navy.

Shipyard facilities

Employing 7,000 workers, the facilities include drydocks, 19 cranes, various cutting machines and a 6,000-ton floating dock. Ships of up to 20,000 tons displacement can be built. Current production includes cargo ships of 14,000 and 20,000 tons, 1,500-ton destroyers and 82-ton patrol boats for the

Korean People's Navy The Korean People's Army Navy (KPANF; ) or the Korean People's Navy (KPN) is the Navy, naval component of the Korean People's Army, the North Korean armed forces. There are some 780 vessels including 70 midget submarines (including the Yono-cla ...

, dredgers, 3,750-ton stern trawlers, etc. The complex houses research laboratories and a school for training shipbuilders and repair technicians.

Ships built at yard

Nampo-class corvette The Nampo-class corvettes (or light frigates) are a class of warships built in North Korea. They were seen from satellite-photos in 2013 and are believed to be a replacement for the older . The class has some similarities to Myanmar Navy UMS '' ...

References

{{coord, 38.720, 125.395, type:landmark_region:KP, display=title Shipbuilding companies of North Korea Buildings and structures in Nampo