Posted on 30 Dec 2022
Despite a decline in November, Chinese shipbuilders nevertheless came top again in new global orders received for 2022, keeping their South Korean rivals in second place for a second year, according to the data provided by global market researcher Clarkson Research Service and quoted by Korea's Yonhap newsagency Thursday.
Chinese shipyards far outpaced the South Korean builders, winning orders equivalent to 20.34 million compensated gross tons (CGTs), or 49% of the world total, according to Clarkson calculations.
South Korea had retained the world's No.1 spot in new shipbuilding orders for three years running before falling behind China in 2020, Yonhap noted.
Nevertheless, during last year Korean builders such as Hyundai Heavy Industries Group did manage to outperform their Chinese counterparts in business for liquefied natural gas (LNG) carriers this year, with the Korean yards winning orders for 70% of the LNG carrier tonnage being ordered worldwide this year of 14.52 million CGT, Clarkson noted, equivalent to 10.12 million CGT. The Chinese builders picked up the remaining 4.4 million CGTs for their 30% share.
Significantly, LNG carrier orders obtained by South Korean shipyards accounted for two-thirds of all orders the yards received, which would have helped their profitability, Yonhap noted.
Earlier this month, Korea's Samsung Heavy Industries announced that it had won a huge contract to build a floating LNG facility for delivery by August 2027, awarded by Malaysia's state-run energy company Petronas, as Mysteel Global reported.
The conclusion of Clarkson that the Chinese yards won most orders globally might come as a surprise to Chinese builders themselves.
In a release on December 14, China Association of the National Shipbuilding Industry (CANSI) announced that during January-November this year, the domestic yards had concluded new vessel orders totaling 39.6 million deadweight tons (DWT), down by a substantial 37.8% on year, of which 90% were for exports.
CGT is a measure of a ship's internal volume and is not related to weight, whereas DWT measures the weight that a vessel can carry including water, fuel and cargo, Mysteel Global notes.
For November alone, according to CANSI data, China's shipyards won new orders equivalent to 2.2 million DWT, lower by as huge 55.6% on month, as reported.
Source:Mysteel Global
