Okay, so how many people know that car engines are used to run cruise ships? According to a recent article in Wheels, written by Jerry Garrett, Hyundai could be one of the companies that will be bidding on several major cruise ship contracts in 2009.
In recent years, the Koreans have become major players in the ship building industry; in fact, Fortune reports Korean companies now represent seven of the top ten positions in the industry.
But the Koreans have specialized in the building of oil tankers and container ships, the latter of which were an outgrowth of Hyundai’s need to ship its Korean-made cars to foreign markets, like the United States. Those types of ships represent profit potential of about $800 per ton…
Europeans have long dominated this industry, but Hyundai Heavy Industries, the auto company’s parent, recently finished a small passenger ship for a European buyer…
No word on what engines Hyundai might use if it were to build a cruise ship, but it would definitely wind up being the most powerful Hyundai ever; the QM2 uses four Rolls-Royce diesel electrics that generate 157,000 horsepower.
So, it makes sense that Rolls-Royce would be the choice for the Queen Mary 2, but which cruise line would you pair up with Hyundai and why? I’d love to hear your comments!