South Korea captured 44% of global shipbuilding orders in May

South Korea's shipbuilding industry secured 44 percent of global vessel orders last month, trailing China — the top-ranked country — by just 3 percentage points.

According to Clarkson Research, a London-based shipping and shipbuilding market intelligence firm, global new vessel orders in May totaled 4.52 million compensated gross tons (CGT), equivalent to 147 ships — a 45 percent drop from 8.18 million CGT the previous month. Compared with the same period last year, however, orders were up 91 percent from 2.37 million CGT. By country, South Korea booked 1.99 million CGT across 34 vessels, accounting for 44 percent of the global total, while China took 2.11 million CGT across 97 vessels, or 47 percent.

On a per-vessel basis, South Korean yards averaged 59,000 CGT per ship, more than double China's 22,000 CGT. Analysts attributed the gap to Korean shipbuilders' focus on high-value vessels.

Cumulative global orders for January through May reached 33.56 million CGT (1,108 ships), up 62 percent from 20.66 million CGT (863 ships) in the same period last year. South Korea accounted for 7.08 million CGT across 168 vessels, or 21 percent of the total — an 84 percent year-on-year increase — while China recorded 22.98 million CGT across 816 vessels, or 68 percent, up 103 percent from a year earlier.

The global order backlog at the end of May stood at approximately 200.2 million CGT, up 3.79 million CGT from the previous month. South Korea held 37.06 million CGT, or 19 percent of the total, while China held 129.43 million CGT, or 65 percent. Month on month, South Korea's backlog grew by 140,000 CGT and China's by 3.17 million CGT. Compared with a year earlier, South Korea's backlog was up 1.16 million CGT and China's up 25.52 million CGT.

Meanwhile, the Clarkson Newbuilding Price Index at the end of May stood at 185.01, up 1.6 points from 183.41 the previous month and 36 percent above its May 2021 level of 136.14. By vessel type, end-May prices were $248.5 million for LNG carriers, $130.5 million for very large crude carriers (VLCC) and $261.5 million for ultra-large container ships in the 22,000–24,000 TEU range.