Shipbuilders receive $15.2 billion worth of orders

Korea shipbuilders ranked top 2 years in a row in terms of shipbuilding orders.

Last year Korean shipbuilders received orders for a total of 313 vessels worth $15.2 billion.

According to the Korea Shipbuilder's Association in the report "Domestic shipbuilding levels in 2000 and expectations for 2001" on Jan. 29, domestic shipbuilders shipbuilding orders increased by 38 percent to 313 vessels, amounting to 14 million CGT (Compensated Gross Tonnage), and 65 percent to $15.2 billion compared to a year ago, setting a new record.

An official at the Korea Shipbuilder's Association explained the increases were due in part to receiving orders for larger and higher value vessels compared to 1998.

It reported that shipbuilding companies completed 180 units, 6.05 million CGT worth $9.6 billion for the whole year in 2000. As of the end of last year, remaining contracts for the entire domestic Korean shipbuilding industry will take two and a half years to complete 503 vessels (16.41 million CGT) worth $23.1 billion.

The association predicted that the last year, 2000, would be the second best year for delivering orders all over the world. Considering the slowing down of the world economy, shipbuilding orders may slide a bit from last year.

In addition, as new emerging ship building countries such as China pour investment into facility expansion for supply, and the demand for new vessels shrinks, the competition in acquiring orders will intensify.

The association also said that prices would increase due to market demands for vessels that are more profitable.