Seoul: South Korean shipbuilders saw a rebound in their global order share in the first half amid U.S. sanctions targeting Chinese rivals, an industry report showed Tuesday.
According to Yonhap News Agency, South Korea secured 25.1 percent of global shipbuilding orders in terms of compensated gross tons (CGT) during the January-June period. This marks an increase from 17.2 percent a year earlier, reducing the gap with leader China from 51 percentage points to 26.7 percentage points.
Last year, South Korea's share of global annual orders was at 15 percent, the lowest in eight years. This year's rebound is attributed to recent U.S. trade measures, with the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) introducing a policy to impose port entry fees on Chinese shipping companies and operators of Chinese-built vessels, discouraging reliance on Chinese shipyards.
In the first half of the year, container ships accounted for 53.3 percent of South Korea's total order volume of 4.87 million CGT. Last year, South Korean shipyards secured only two midsize-to-large container ship orders. The report stated that the shift in orders from Chinese to Korean shipbuilders amid U.S. sanctions has contributed to the increase in Korea's global market share.
Despite the improved performance, the bank emphasized the need for South Korea's shipbuilding industry to enhance its fundamental competitiveness for long-term resilience.