South Korea's Shipbuilding Orders Rise 60% in First Half, 19% Market Share

▲ File photo of shipbuilding operations

South Korea saw a 60% increase in shipbuilding orders during the first half of this year.

According to Clarkson Research, a British shipbuilding and shipping market analysis agency, on July 6, global shipbuilding orders from January to June this year reached 42.95 million CGT (1,481 vessels), a 66% increase from 25.9 million CGT (1,101 vessels) during the same period last year.

In the first half, South Korea secured 7.97 million CGT (195 vessels) in orders, a 60% increase compared to the same period last year, recording a 19% market share.

China recorded 31 million CGT (1,131 vessels), a 113% increase, accounting for a 72% market share.

Global shipbuilding orders in June reached 5.25 million CGT (200 vessels), a 9% decrease from the 5.76 million CGT recorded in the previous month, but a 3% increase compared to 5.09 million CGT in the same month last year.

Last month, South Korea won orders for 500,000 CGT (13 vessels) for a 9% market share, while China accounted for 85% with 4.45 million CGT (171 vessels).

The average order size per vessel was 38,000 CGT for South Korea and 26,000 CGT for China, indicating that South Korea continues to focus on high-value-added vessels.

As of the end of June, the global order backlog stood at 206.59 million CGT, an increase of 2.14 million CGT from the previous month.

By country, the order backlog was 38.81 million CGT (19%) for South Korea and 134.03 million CGT (65%) for China.

Compared to the previous month, South Korea's backlog increased by 1.59 million CGT and China's by 770,000 CGT. Compared to the same period last year, South Korea's backlog grew by 3.69 million CGT, while China's increased by 30.2 million CGT.

The Clarkson Newbuilding Price Index at the end of June was 185.15, up 0.14 points from the previous month (185.01).

This is 33% higher than the figure from June 2021 (138.79).

As of the end of May, newbuilding prices by vessel type were 248.5 million USD for LNG carriers, 130.5 million USD for very large crude carriers (VLCC), and 261.5 million USD for ultra-large container ships.

(Photo: Yonhap News)

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