South Korean shipwrights may not top 2022 order book but they are dubbed as true winners as they have taken home most of the pricy orders on LNG tankers.
According to British shipbuilding and marine industry tracker Clarkson Research on Thursday, Korean shipbuilders bagged a combined 14.65 million CGT in new orders from January to October this year, smaller than China with 15.81 million CGT orders.
The yearbook is likely close as Korean dockyards are fully booked for work till the end of 2026.
Currently, Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering under Hyundai Heavy Industries Group has a workload of about 17.95 million CGT, requiring full capacity of dockyards under Hyundai Heavy Industries, Hyundai Mipo Dockyard, and Hyundai Samho Heavy Industries for at least three years.
China State Shipbuilding Corporation (CSSC) came second with 17.76 million CGT, followed two Korean names Samsung Heavy Industries with 9.37 million CGT and Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering with 7.68 million CGT.
Korean builders have dominated orders for high value-added LNG carriers.
They won a combined 8.89 million CGT in LNG orders up to October this year, or 76 percent of total global orders in 11.72 million CGT for 136 LNG carriers. China came second with 2.84 million CGT or 24 percent of all.
The prices of LNG vessels have continued to strengthen, with a carrier priced at $248 million as of the end of last month. DSME last month signed a supply contract for LNG carriers at record-high of $250 million per unit.
“Green energy demand will keep increasing with global decarbonization initiative, and demand for LNG carriers will stay solid for years. Quality growth is more important than growth in quantity,” said an industry official.
