Shipbuilding Industry

Hyundai's shipyards are some of the best in the world.
Hyundai's shipyards are some of the best in the world.

 

It has been found that the amount of orders received by Korean shipbuilders, which had decreased for years since 2007, showed a turnaround last year. 

According to London-based Clarkson Research Services, the global ordering quantity increased 92.4% year on year to 48.66 million CGT in 2013. Korean shipbuilders took 16.07 million CGT out of it, recording a 99% growth from the previous year. 

They accounted for 33% of the total orders, second only to China that took up 40.9%, by receiving 19.91 million CGT. Japan ranked third with a market share of 14.8%. When it comes to the total value of orders, Korea retained its top position for two years in a row by recording US$41.1 billion, followed by China (US$32.7 billion). This is because Korean shipbuilders mainly won high value-added vessels such as LNG carriers and super-large container carriers, unlike Chinese companies. 

In the meantime, the local shipbuilding industry is expected to show some significant recovery this year while the merchant ship and offshore plant sectors are showing movements in different directions. 

The merchant vessel segment is forecast to post at least some growth from a year earlier in terms of order obtainment as the demand for high added value ships is on the rise. Still, that for LNG carriers and petroleum carriers is predicted to decrease a little bit during the course of this year. 

In the offshore plant segment, the demand for the construction of production facilities such as Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) and LNG-FPSO is likely to rise to some extent, but the downtrend associated with rig ships and drilling ships is likely to continue in 2014. 

Under the circumstances, industry experts are forecasting that the total quantity of orders won by Korean shipbuilders this year will be increased by approximately 3% to 16.55 million CGT, with the value of the orders going up 10% to US$45.2 billion.

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