STX Group, a Korean shipbuilding and trading conglomerate, said Sunday that it has agreed with Russia’s leading mining company Mechel on a strategic business partnership in shipping and harbor development projects.

STX Group chairman Kang Duk-soo and Mechel CEO Igor Zyuzin signed a memorandum of understanding in a meeting on Saturday on the sidelines of the APEC CEO Summit held in Vladivostok, Russia.

Under the agreement, the two companies agreed to cooperate on the supply of solid fuel for power plants and steel materials for shipbuilding, long-term logistics support in the shipping industry and harbor development projects in Russia. 

STX officials said its new MOU with a strong partner will bring more opportunities for the company to expand its presence in harbor development in Russia and Europe.

Mechel, based in Moscow, is Russia’s largest producer of special steel and alloys. The Nasdaq-listed company posted $12.5 billion in sales last year.

Kang, the STX chief, also met Igor Sechin, CEO of Russia’s state-owned extraction and refinement company Rosneft and a close ally of President Vladimir Putin, to discuss potential ocean projects in Russia.

Sechin was quoted by STX officials to have expressed interest in participating in STX’s ocean projects involving building facilities and extracting and trading natural gas.

Kang also reaffirmed his business partnership with Andrei Dyachkov, president of United Shipbuilding Corporation, Russia’s state-run shipbuilder, following the establishment of a joint venture between the two companies in June.

STX, which has taken an earlier edge over other Korean shipbuilders in building liquefied natural gas carriers in Russia, plans to expand business ties in the development of natural resources and shipbuilding infrastructure in the country, officials said.

By Lee Ji-yoon (jylee@heraldcorp.com)