Korea reclaims top spot in global shipbuilding orders in February
Hyung-Kyu Kim
Mar 06, 2024 (Gmt+09:00)
Container ships at the port of Busan South Korean shipbuilders reclaimed the global No. 1 position in new orders last month for the first time since October 2023, according to data by UK-based Clarksons Research on Wednesday.
Global shipbuilding orders signed in February reached 3.4 million compensated gross tons (CGTs), up 18% from a year ago. Korean shipbuilders took up 50% of global CGTs, followed by China's 41%.
By number of ships, China won global orders for 59 ships, while Korea secured 28 units.
As of the end of February, not-yet built globally ordered ships reached 125.9 million CGTs. Chinese shipbuilders topped the list with 50% of the figure, followed by Korean rivals with 31%.
Clarksons’ newbuild price index rose 11% on-year to 181.45 on Wednesday.
By average price per vessel, a liquefied natural gas (LNG) carrier with more than 174,000 cubic meters costs $265 million. The tanker was followed by large container ships at $237 million and very large crude carriers (VLCC) at $128 million.
Write to Hyung-Kyu Kim at khk@hankyung.com Jihyun Kim edited this article.