Korea wins lion’s share of newbuilding orders

The Korean finance ministry said the combined orders won by local shipbuilders, such as Hyundai, Samsung and Daewoo, reached 2.40 million compensated gross tons (cgt) in the January-April period, or 43.6% of 5.50 million cgt placed worldwide.

This is the largest won by a single country and 500,000 cgt more than runners-up China that secured 1.90 million cgt, or 34.5% of the total in this period. Japan and European countries also won 200,000 cgt worth of ships.

“The reason why South Korea has been able to reclaim its No. 1 standing from China is due to drops in orders by Chinese shipping companies that signed contracts for new ships with Chinese yards last year,” the ministry said. It added that there was a sharp rise in orders from European shipping lines that favour South Korean ships.

The latest report also showed that while total shipbuilding volume has dropped 23.7% year-on-year for local yards in the first quarter, exports only declined 6.4% because the country has been able to ship out value-added vessels such as drill ships.