S. Korean shipbuilders overtaken by Chinese rivals

South Korean shipbuilders were outpaced by their Chinese rivals in the number of new orders received this year and order backlogs, according to a London-based market researcher Friday.

Korean shipbuilders such as Hyundai Heavy Industries Co. and Samsung Heavy Industries Co. won a combined 1.64 million compensated gross tons (CGTs) in new orders in the first 10 months of the year, accounting for 31.8 percent of all new global orders, said Clarkson Research Studies, a division of Clarkson PLC, the world's leading shipping services provider.

New orders at Chinese shipyards totaled 2.70 million CGTs during the cited period, accounting for 52.3 percent of the total, Clarkson said.

In October alone, South Korean shipyards won 214,825 CGTs, while Chinese companies received 233,265 CGTs, according to the researcher.

Market watchers said Chinese shipbuilders have gobbled up new orders at cheap prices, while South Korean shipbuilders have continued to focus on high-priced vessels and offshore facilities.

South Korea, home to seven of the world's top 10 shipyards, has clinched record-high orders in the past few years on strong demand for crude carriers and offshore exploration equipment amid lofty oil prices.

But orders for new vessels have sunk since the third quarter of last year, as the credit crisis and the subsequent global recession have prodded companies to postpone delivery dates or cancel orders.

South Korea also yielded the top position to China in the global shipbuilding industry in terms of order backlogs, according to the researcher and industry sources.

South Korean shipbuilders' combined order backlogs totaled 53.62 million CGTs as of the end of October, compared with Chinese rivals' 54.96 million CGTs, they said.

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