China Overtakes Korean Shipbuilding

South Korean shipbuilders were overtaken by their Chinese rivals in new orders acquired in the first four months of the year, a London-based market researcher said on Wednesday. South Korean shipbuilders such as Hyundai Heavy Industries Co and Samsung Heavy Industries Co received a combined 6.9 million compensated gross tons (CGTs) in new orders in the January-April period, up 6.9% from a year ago, Clarkson Research Studies said. New orders acquired by Chinese shipyards totaled 8.5 million

However, South Korea maintained its No 1 ranking in the global shipbuilding industry in terms of backlogs of orders and the volume of vessels built, the market researcher said. South Korean shipbuilders' combined backlogs of orders totaled 46.4 million CGTs as of the end of April, compared with their Chinese rivals' 34.2 million CGTs and Japanese shipbuilders' 29.7 million CGTs. Korean shipyards built 3.2 million CGTs in the first four months of the year, nearly triple the Chinese shipyards' figure of 1.2 million CGTs. South Korea, home to seven of the world's top 10 shipyards, clinched record-high orders last year because of strong demand for crude-oil carriers and offshore exploration equipment amid high oil prices. Source: Asia Pulse/Yonhap