$13.6 Billion Orders from Jan-Mar This Year
China Records Only $12.6 Billion
Already 45% of Last Year's Orders
HD Hyundai Heavy, Samsung Heavy, Hanwha Ocean
44.7% Global Market Share
Domestic shipbuilders surpassed China in the first quarter of this year to claim the top spot in global ship orders. This is the first time in three years since the fourth quarter of 2021 that Korea has overtaken China to rank first on a quarterly basis.
On the 3rd, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy announced, "Korea's ship order value in the first quarter of this year reached $13.6 billion (approximately 18.35 trillion KRW), surpassing China’s $12.6 billion (about 17 trillion KRW)." This accounts for 45.5% of last year’s total order value of $29.9 billion.
According to Clarkson Research, a UK-based shipbuilding and shipping market analysis firm, the combined global market share of the K-shipbuilding Big 3?HD Hyundai Heavy Industries, Samsung Heavy Industries, and Hanwha Ocean?was 44.7% (by order volume) from January to March this year. During the same period, Korea’s order volume was 4.49 million CGT (Compensated Gross Tonnage), slightly lower than China’s 4.9 million CGT. However, compared to the previous year, Korea’s orders increased by 32.9%, while China’s decreased by 0.1%, indicating continued growth in Korea’s shipbuilding industry.
Looking at March orders alone, Korea led with 1.05 million CGT, ahead of China’s 730,000 CGT. Ship exports have recorded positive growth for eight consecutive months since July last year, driving Korea’s export recovery.
So far, Korea’s shipbuilding industry has swiftly responded to the global trends of decarbonization and digital transformation by focusing on eco-friendly and high value-added vessels. In the first quarter of this year, domestic shipbuilders secured 100% of the world’s orders for eco-friendly ships, including 29 LNG carriers and 20 ammonia carriers.
Korean shipbuilders are actively responding to the growing demand for eco-friendly products driven by strengthened global environmental regulations, leading the global ship technology market. HD Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore, the holding company of HD Hyundai Shipbuilding, secured a total of 43 methanol-powered container ships, including the world’s first methanol-powered container ship.
Hanwha Ocean plans to develop a ‘carbon-free propulsion gas carrier’ as a decarbonization game changer. It has already developed carbon dioxide capture and storage technology, installed this equipment on actual ships, and completed continuous processes for absorbing, regenerating, and mineralizing carbon dioxide contained in exhaust gases. Samsung Heavy Industries is focusing on future eco-friendly products such as floating wind power and small modular nuclear reactors (SMR), as well as digital twin-based autonomous navigation technology.
LNG carrier built by Samsung Heavy Industries The Qatar-based projects are also believed to have had an impact. An industry insider said, "The increase in order value appears to be driven by large-scale projects from Qatar, the world’s largest LNG producer."
Samsung Heavy Industries secured 15 orders worth approximately 4.6 trillion KRW from Qatar in the first quarter of this year, while Hanwha Ocean secured 8 orders worth about 2.5 trillion KRW during the same period. HD Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore was the first among the three major shipbuilders to win the second phase of the Qatar project last October, securing 17 orders worth approximately 5.3 trillion KRW.
Four large LNG carriers are being built simultaneously at Hanwha Ocean Geoje Plant's Dock 1. [Photo by Hanwha Ocean]
To support the shipbuilding industry’s revival after more than a decade, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy announced the ‘K-Shipbuilding Next-Generation Leading Strategy’ last November and launched the ‘K-Shipbuilding Next-Generation Initiative’ in March this year. As a public-private one team, they are investing 9 trillion KRW over the next five years to swiftly address pressing challenges in the shipbuilding industry, including securing cutting-edge technologies, nurturing domestic talent, and introducing foreign workers.
Given the shipbuilding industry’s crucial role in achieving this year’s export target of $700 billion (approximately 945 trillion KRW), the ministry plans to establish a ‘K-Shipbuilding Cutting-Edge Technology Roadmap’ in the first half of the year. In the second half, it will devise measures to strengthen the competitiveness of small and medium-sized shipyards and expand the export competitiveness of ship equipment industries. The ministry also added that it will actively utilize regulatory sandboxes to foster new shipbuilding industries as key export items.
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