South Korean tanks transporting LNG gas will be fully lined using Russian super plywood under a deal struck between Russia’s largest timber company, Segezha Group, and Samsung Heavy Industries.
Wood Central understands that the agreement will see a special type of plywood, known as ‘tanker plywood’ – engineered to minimise evaporation during long-term sea freight, and built to withstand high pressure and extremely low temperatures – transported in record numbers to the Korean peninsula.
Touring Segezha’s Vyatka Plywood Mill, which last year produced 180,000 cubic metres of tanker plywood used in passenger and freight transport, Samsung representatives saw all stages of the LNG plywood production process – from raw material supply to order shipment and end-to-end quality control: “The plywood has already passed international certification and has several international certificates,” according to Dmitry Beresnev, Segezha’s vice president for commercial activities.
In recent years, South Korea (and Japan) have emerged as crucial lifelines for Russian timber, which is now subject to European sanctions. According to the Korean Customs Service, South Korean imports of Russian plywood jumped 82% for 2024, from 34.3 thousand tonnes to 62 thousand tonnes, with the new agreement (one of Segezha’s largest) expected to lead to a 25% increase in tanker plywood production in 2025.
The push into South Korea comes after Segezha revealed plans to push into the Indian market, which makes up just 3% of Russia’s timber trade, as western sanctions force exporters to eye off new markets. Speaking to the Eastern Economic Forum in September, Nikolai Ivanov, Segezha vice president for External Relations, said the Russian giant wants to grow the market for kit homes, biofuel and wood pellets in addition to its plywood trade: “This is the star of a long-term strategy, with only small volumes of trade compared to the market’s full potential.”
Ivanov said reduced tariffs, duties, and crunched logistic costs could open up an enormous market for Russia – potentially exporting up to 50 million cubic metres of timber into India every year: “This would represent 25% of Russia’s entire timber harvest, all the while helping India meet its surging demand for plywood, lumber and logs.”
- To learn more about the impact of sanctions on Russian timber – which continues to flood European markets – click here for more information.
