Despite the explosive growth that China has shown in shipbuilding, the shipyards in South Korea are still well utilized.
The order books are worth almost 140 billion dollars. More than half of all newbuildings are accounted for by a single sector.
LNG ships are by far the most popular type of ship being built at South Korean shipyards. With a value of $71.3 billion and a 52% share of the total order backlog, they are by far the most valuable sector. With 276 ships ordered (out of a total of 806), this segment also has the highest order volume.
Container ships are in second place with a value of $35.6 billion and 184 ships in the order book, accounting for a 26% share, according to an analysis by VesselsValue. Liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) tankers are in third place; this ship type accounts for a value of $14.9 billion and 129 ships, closely followed by the tanker order book with $14.7 billion. However, tankers exceed both LPG and container ships in terms of volume; a total of 185 ships of this type are under construction. Carriers are listed in fifth place, with “only” eight ships on order, but a value of $929 million.
CMA CGM has container ships built in South Korea
The largest customer is the French liner shipping company CMA CGM, which is having a total of 38 container ships (ULCV, New Panamax and Post Panamax) built in South Korea for $8.09 billion. It is followed by NYK with USD 7.21 billion, which is being spent on 26 LNG ships and three VLACs. The Japanese shipping company has also ordered a further 56 ships in China, Japan and Germany.
Qatar Gas Transport is in third place with an order value of $6.9 billion and 29 LNG ships on order, followed by Qatar Energy with $6.52 billion and 25 LNG ships. In addition to CMA CGM, the fifth-largest customer Evergreen Marine, which has ordered 28 Panamax container ships for a total of USD 6.38 billion, has also focused entirely on containers.
“Dual-fuel”, i.e. the ability to operate a ship with more than one fuel, accounts for 37% of the order books in South Korea. All LNG ships, carriers and RoRo ferries ordered will have this equipment, as will 80% of container ships and 50% of LPG tankers.
HMM remains the largest South Korean shipping company
Of the largest shipowners in South Korea, both in terms of current and ordered fleet, HMM has the most valuable fleet worth $11.9 billion and a total of 112 vessels in the bulker, tanker, container, LNG and car carrier segments. According to VesselsValue, this is a relatively young fleet with an average age of eight years.
H Line Shipping is in second place with a fleet value of USD 6.09 billion and 62 ships. Pan Ocean is in third place with a fleet value of $5.73 billion and the second largest fleet with 126 vessels. Sinokor, which ranks fourth in terms of value with $5.73 billion, has the largest fleet in terms of volume with 134 ships, the average age of which is eleven years.
