Korea Returns to First Place in Shipbuilding
South Korean shipbuilding industry has surpassed China in three months and reached the top of global monthly shipbuilding orders.
A report in Yonhap said that South Korean shipyards recaptured the No. 1 position in new orders worldwide in August amid a plunge in overall numbers.
The local shipbuilders clinched new orders worth a combined 130,000 compensated gross tons (CGTs) last month to build nine vessels, the report said quoting data compiled by global research firm Clarkson Research Institute.
Chinese rivals came next with 110,000 CGTs, or seven ships. Japanese shipyards bagged orders worth 40,000 CGTs or two ships.
In the first eight months of the year, China ranked first with orders worth 4.22 million CGTs or 195 vessels, followed by South Korea with 3.48 million CGTs or 104 ships.
China was also the No. 1 country in terms of order backlog with 25.83 million CGTs, followed by Japan and South Korea with 16.12 million CGTs and 16.10 million CGTs, respectively, the latest data showed.