Bloomberg has reported that South Korea's seven shipbuilders, which delivered 38 percent of the world's vessels in 2005, said they may raise the prices of new ships to take advantage of record orders and protect their profits from rising costs. Carriers of containers, oil and minerals may cost about 5 percent more this year, said Hyundai Samho Heavy Industries company officials. Higher prices protect shipbuilders' earnings from the Korean won's gains against the U.S. dollar and shield them from steel costs that have risen 70 percent since 2003. A third year of rising ship prices add to the costs of Taiwan's Evergreen Marine Corp. and other shipping lines which carry an estimated 90 percent of global trade.