South Korea secured 310,000 CGT out of 4.2 million CGT ordered globally last month

South Korea's year-to-date share stands at 16%, while China's reaches 76%

An LNG carrier built by Samsung Heavy Industries. [Provided by Samsung Heavy Industries]
An LNG carrier built by Samsung Heavy Industries. [Provided by Samsung Heavy Industries]

South Korea's share of global ship orders fell below 10 percent last month, while China's share surged well past 80 percent.

According to Clarkson Research, a British shipping and shipbuilding market research firm, global ship orders in August totaled 4.2 million compensated gross tons (CGT), or 125 vessels — a 24 percent decline from the same period last year, when orders reached 5.51 million CGT.

By country, South Korea secured 310,000 CGT (10 vessels, 7 percent), while China took 3.59 million CGT (107 vessels, 85 percent).

On a cumulative basis through last month, global ship orders this year reached 59.72 million CGT (2,128 vessels), up 61 percent from 37.19 million CGT in the same period last year.

Of that total, South Korea accounted for 9.38 million CGT (243 vessels, 16 percent) and China for 45.39 million CGT (1,672 vessels, 76 percent) — increases of 55 percent and 95 percent, respectively, from the same period last year.

The global order backlog as of the end of last month stood at 216.43 million CGT, up 1.05 million CGT from the previous month. South Korea held 37.96 million CGT (18 percent) and China 145.39 million CGT (67 percent). Compared with the previous month, South Korea's backlog fell by 410,000 CGT while China's grew by 2.3 million CGT.

The Clarkson Newbuilding Price Index at the end of last month rose 0.85 points from the previous month to 186.34, up 28 percent from 145.97 in August 2021. By vessel type, an LNG carrier was priced at $248.5 million, a very large crude carrier (VLCC) at $131 million, and a very large container ship (22,000–24,000 TEU) at $254 million.


yeongdai@heraldcorp.com