Korean Ship Orders in February This Year Fall Behind China... Ship Prices on the Rise

South Korea Accounts for 14%, China for 65% of Ship Orders

Last month, South Korea's ship orders were significantly outpaced by its competitor, China.

According to Clarkson Research, a UK-based shipbuilding and shipping market analysis firm, global ship orders last month totaled 2.07 million CGT (Compensated Gross Tonnage - standard tonnage equivalent for 50 vessels), marking a 62% sharp decline compared to the same month last year.

South Korea secured 290,000 CGT (7 vessels, 14%) of this total, ranking second after China. China led with 1.35 million CGT (37 vessels, 65%).

However, the CGT per vessel was recorded at 41,000 CGT for South Korea and 36,000 CGT for China. This indicates that South Korea secured more high value-added ships than China.

As of the end of last month, the global order backlog (remaining construction volume) was 156.34 million CGT, down 2.94 million CGT from the end of the previous month.

Test run of a large LNG-powered container ship built by Hyundai Heavy Industries Group Photo by Yonhap News

By country, the order backlog was led by China with 90.75 million CGT (58%), followed by South Korea with 36.67 million CGT (23%).

The Clarkson Newbuilding Price Index recorded 188.36 points, rising 6.97 points (4%) compared to the same month last year.

The price per vessel by ship type was $256 million for liquefied natural gas (LNG) carriers over 174,000 m³, $126 million for very large crude carriers (VLCC), and $275 million for ultra-large container ships.