Surrounded on three sides by water, Korea is an oceanic nation that depends on the import of 95 percent of its energy sources and the export of its manufactured goods via maritime routes. Maritime transport is Korea’s lifeline, and between the 16th century iron-clad “turtle ships” that propelled their creator, Admiral Yi Sun-sin, and his legendary naval exploits to near-mythical status and the early 21st century next-generation super container ships spanning several football fields in length, the Korean shipbuilding industry has been a success story.