Korean shipbuilders are enjoying a brisk new order intake at the year-end.
Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering (KSOE), a shipbuilding affiliate of Hyundai Heavy Industries Group, said on Dec. 22 that it has won an order for three LNG carriers worth 607.2 billion won. On the previous day, the company bagged orders for 10 vessels worth one trillion won, including four 13,200-TEU containerships, two LPG carriers, three LNG carriers and one petroleum carrier (PC). For only two days, the shipbuilder was awarded orders worth 1.8 trillion won.
Hyundai Heavy Industries Group has booked orders for a total of 113 ships amounting to US$9.5 billion so far this year, attaining 86 percent of its annual order target of US$11 billion. KSOE says it stands a strong chance of receiving additional orders in the future as some of its contracts includes options for same-sized container ships and LPG carriers.
Samsung Heavy Industries also announced on Dec. 22 that it has received an order for two LNG carriers worth 403.5 billion won, which followed a 408.2 billion won order for two LNG carriers awarded by a shipping company in Oceania on Dec. 21. The shipbuilder won orders for a total of four LNG carriers valued about 810 billion won over the two days.
The four LNG carriers will be delivered sequentially by February 2024. They will be equipped with a re-liquefaction system in its membrane-type (Mark-III Flex) cargo hold, a design that minimizes cargo space loss. They will also feature Samsung Heavy Industries' smart ship solution "SVESSEL."
Including these orders, Samsung Heavy Industries has won contracts for a total of 13 LNG carriers since November. Its cumulative orders for this year rose from US$1.1 billion in October to US$4.4 billion. Its annual order intake is expected to reach US$4.8 billion, reaching 57 percent of its order target of US$8.4 billion for 2020.
Meanwhile, global order placements added up to 7.5 million CGTs in the second half (July-November), surpassing 6.97 million CGTs in the first half, Clarkson Research said in early December.
This article is reproduced at www.businesskorea.co.kr
