Two out of Three Ships Worldwide Are Dominated by Korea... Twice as Many as China

South Korea Secures 860,000 CGT Orders... Booming Opportunities Including Qatar Project

A liquefied natural gas (LNG) carrier built by Samsung Heavy Industries. (Photo by Samsung Heavy Industries)

[Asia Economy Reporter Moon Chaeseok] South Korea ranked an overwhelming first place in the global shipbuilding order market last month with a market share of 67%. The gap with second-place China was more than double.

According to Clarkson Research, a UK-based shipbuilding and shipping market analysis firm, the global ship orders last month totaled 1.29 million CGT (41 vessels). South Korea secured 860,000 CGT (16 vessels) of this, recording a 67% market share. China ranked second with 340,000 CGT (15 vessels, 26%), and Japan was third with 40,000 CGT (3 vessels, 3%).

South Korea also held the top spot in cumulative orders this year. Of the 5.12 million CGT ordered worldwide up to last month, South Korea secured 2.81 million CGT (56 vessels, 55%). China recorded 2.01 million CGT (61 vessels, 39%), while Japan remained at 140,000 CGT (6 vessels, 3%). Although China led in the number of vessels, South Korea ranked first based on Compensated Gross Tonnage (CGT), which evaluates work volume reflecting the difficulty by ship type.

Global ship orders up to last month decreased by 36% compared to the same period last year. The orders for January-February were 3.08 million CGT in 2020 and surged to 7.94 million CGT last year, a 158% increase year-on-year. The industry views last year's figures as a temporary increase due to postponed ship orders caused by the COVID-19 pandemic in the first half of 2020, which resumed from the end of 2020. Compared to 2020, ship orders for January-February this year increased by 2.04 million CGT.

Looking at the order status by ship type up to last month, 22 vessels were large container ships of 12,000 TEU class. South Korea secured 16 vessels (73%) of these. Among 22 large LNG carriers over 140,000 m³, South Korea secured 15 vessels (68%), surpassing China’s 7 vessels (32%). This indicates that South Korea still holds an advantage in large vessels, where it has shown strength so far.

There have been no orders yet this year for ultra-large crude carriers (VLCC), S-Max class, and A-Max class oil tankers. The Clarkson Ship Price Index slightly rose from 154.26 points last month to 154.73 points, continuing its upward trend for 15 consecutive months. An industry official said, "Regarding LNG carriers, whose demand is increasing due to strengthened environmental regulations, domestic shipbuilders secured all seven vessels ordered worldwide last month," adding, "Expectations for large-scale orders related to the Qatar project, which is expected to enter full contract phase soon, are also rising."