South Korean January Ship Orders Increase

New orders received by South Korean shipbuilders in January totaled 1.06 million gt, up 164.7 percent from the same month a year earlier, provisional figures from the Korea Shipbuilders' Association showed. South Korean shipbuilders received orders for 16 ships in January, the association said. Orders received in January last year totaled 400,556 gt for four ships, it said. Ships completed in January were down from the same month a year earlier. Seventeen ships totaling 956,081 gt were finished, compared to 23 vessels at 1.22 million gt, it said. South Korea's backlogged orders at the end of January amounted to 24.30 million gt for 389 ships, against 20.35 million gt for 314 ships a year earlier.