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Korea, No. 2 in shipbuilding order by volume, looks to spur sales with container ships

Published: 06 Jun. 2025, 18:01

A very large liquefied natural gas dual-fuel container carrier built and delivered by HD Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering in 2024 [HD HYUNDAI HEAVY INDUSTRIES]

Korea secured the second-highest volume of shipbuilding orders in May, trailing only China, despite a sharp drop in global demand. Korean shipbuilders are now expanding their efforts to win orders for high-value container ships, traditionally dominated by Chinese yards, as well as liquefied natural gas (LNG) carriers.

Global ship orders in May totaled 1.66 million compensated gross tonnage (CGT) across 71 vessels, according to Clarkson Research, a Britain-based shipbuilding and maritime industry analytics firm, on Friday.

That figure marks a 55 percent year-on-year decline. Korea received orders for 250,000 CGT across eight ships, accounting for 15 percent of the global total. China led the market with 640,000 CGT across 42 ships, or 39 percent of the total.

However, Korea’s higher average CGT per vessel — 31,000 compared to China’s 15,000 — indicates that Korean shipbuilders are securing more complex, higher-value contracts.

Facing slower-than-expected demand, Korean yards are stepping up bidding efforts. They are targeting not only high-value LNG carriers but also container ships, a market long dominated by Chinese firms.

HD Hyundai Heavy Industries is reportedly in the final stages of negotiations with Japan’s largest shipping company, Ocean Network Express (ONE), on a $2.64 billion deal to supply container ships.

Last year, Chinese shipbuilders held an 86.6 percent market share in container ship construction. But that dominance is now under pressure with new U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) measures imposing port fees on Chinese-built and operated vessels.

The USTR announced in April that it would impose port fees on Chinese shipping companies, ships built in China, and car carriers built abroad but operated by Chinese entities. This policy shift has prompted a wave of new orders for Korean yards from French, Greek and Taiwanese shipowners.

A liquefied natural gas carrier built and delivered by HD Hyundai Heavy Industries in 2024 [HD HYUNDAI HEAVY INDUSTRIES]

TradeWinds, a shipping industry journal, reported that HD Hyundai Heavy Industries is negotiating with ONE to build up to 12 LNG dual-fuel container ships with a capacity of 16,000 twenty-foot equivalent units each. The deal includes eight firm orders and four optional vessels. Each ship is expected to cost about $220 million, bringing the total to approximately $2.64 billion if all 12 are built.

Hanwha Ocean is also pursuing a 1.8 trillion won ($1.3 billion) container ship order from Germany’s Hapag-Lloyd, the world’s fifth-largest shipping firm. Meanwhile, Korea’s three largest shipbuilders are seen as strong contenders for a 2.3 trillion won container ship contract from Taiwan’s Yang Ming Marine Transport.

Additionally, India’s state-run Oil and Natural Gas Corporation has initiated talks with Korea’s top three yards for an order of three very large ethane carriers, reportedly excluding Chinese shipbuilders from the bidding.

“The pace of new orders hasn’t picked up as quickly as expected early this year,” said a shipbuilding industry insider. “But we’re actively negotiating with global shippers and expect to meet our annual order targets in the second half of the year by focusing on our high-value LNG carriers and premium container ships, which are recognized for their quality over Chinese competitors.”

Translated from the JoongAng Ilbo using generative AI and edited by Korea JoongAng Daily staff.
BY PARK YOUNG-WOO [[email protected]]