Korean Shipbuilders Secure $30b in Orders in 1st Half

South Korean shipbuilders have secured orders worth some $33.2b in the first half of the year. According to Korea’s Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Energy, domestic shipyards received orders to build 364 ships, which translates into 11.32 million compensated gross tons (CGTs) worth $33.2b, up 51.3 percent from a year earlier.

This marks the first time in the country’s shipbuilding history that shipbuilding orders for a six-month period have exceeded $30b, the ministry said in a press release. An increase in cost per ship also contributed to swelling coffers. Local shipyards received $2,933 for each CGT of shipping they agreed to build in the first half compared to $2,284 a year earlier.

Enhanced technologies and new construction methods, coupled with expanded facilities and equipment, also helped the local shipyards see a large increase in this year’s building capacity. Local shipbuilders completed ships totaling 5.57 million CGTs in the first half of the year, up 12.1 percent from the latter half of last year. Since the first quarter of 2004, they have been building at a rate of more than 2 million CGTs every quarter. Source: Korea Times