South Korean shipbuilding orders appear to have fallen significantly behind rival China.
According to Clarkson Research, a U.K.-based shipbuilding and maritime analysis institute, global ship orders last month stood at 2.05 million CGT (Compensated Gross Tonnage, 71 ships), a 30% decrease compared to the same month last year.
Out of this, South Korea secured orders for 270,000 CGT (13%), placing second. This was far behind China, which stood at 1.68 million CGT (82%). In terms of ship count, South Korea and China respectively secured orders for 6 and 60 ships.
The cumulative orders from January to August this year totaled 26.81 million CGT (1,038 ships), marking a 22% drop compared to the same period last year. Orders for South Korea and China stood at 7.25 million CGT (161 ships, 27%) and 15.65 million CGT (654 ships, 58%), respectively.
As of the end of August, the remaining global order backlog increased by 900,000 CGT from the previous month, amounting to 121.29 million CGT. The national order backlogs were led by China with 57.02 million CGT (47%), followed by South Korea with 39.86 million CGT (33%).
Meanwhile, the Clarkson Newbuilding Price Index recorded 173.56 points, an increase of 11.44 points compared to the same period last year.
Prices per ship type revealed that an LNG carrier of 174,000 m³ or more costs US$265 million, a very large crude carrier (VLCC) is priced at US$126 million, and a mega container ship is valued at US$226 million.