Korea Opportunity
Ship owners around the world are placing orders for new vessels one after another. Not a few of them are expected to go to Korean shipbuilders.
According to industry sources, Gail of India is planning to purchase nine LNG ships, three from Indian shipbuilders and the rest from foreign ones. BP Shipping is discussing LNG ship order placement with three ship owners to reach a conclusion within this month, too. Engie of France is expected to buy up to four ships for the Cameron LNG Project. Korean shipbuilders boasting of a high level of technical strength are appealing to the ordering parties.
Last year, the top three Korean shipbuilders took 46 out of the 64 orders for LNG ships with a size of at least 150,000 cubic meters each. Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering took 35 of them, followed by six by Hyundai Heavy Industries, and five Samsung Heavy Industries. This year, the number has been six for Daewoo and two for Samsung.
The LNG ship orders are expected to be a boon for the Korean shipbuilding industry, along with those for large container carriers. As of the end of last month, Maersk Line is planning to procure ten 18,000 TEU container carriers, and CMA CGM is planning on six to seven 20,000 TEU ones. Yang Ming is looking to purchase five 14,000 TEU and 11 20,000 TEU container carriers as well.