Hyundai, Hanwha lead rebound as US curbs on China reshape orders
HD Hyundai Heavy Industries’ Ulsan shipyard (HD Hyundai Heavy Industries)
South Korean shipbuilders are expected to reclaim a 20 percent share of global orders this year despite a sharp decline in new shipbuilding demand, leveraging on US measures aimed at slowing China’s maritime dominance.
According to Clarkson Research, a UK-based shipbuilding market tracker, Korea secured global orders totaling 10.03 million CGT from January to November, accounting for a 22 percent market share. CGT, or compensated gross tonnage, is a standard shipbuilding metric that reflects both vessel size and construction complexity.
Although Korea’s order volume fell 5 percent from a year earlier, the result underscores a relative rebound, given that orders for China, the world’s largest shipbuilder by CGT, slipped 47 percent to 26.64 million CGT in the same period.
This momentum is expected to continue, with Korea’s share of global shipbuilding orders expected to recover into the 20 percent range for the full year after dropping to its lowest level since 2016 at 17 percent last year.
Korean shipbuilders’ stellar performance stands out against a downward trend in the global shipbuilding industry, as cumulative global ship orders from January to November fell 37 percent year-on-year to 44.99 million CGT.
Industry watchers say the US anti-China push in shipbuilding — including a year-delayed port fee increase of around $50 per ton on China-built vessels entering US ports — has raised regulatory risks for global shipowners that place new orders with Chinese shipyards, while highlighting Korean shipbuilders as a strategic alternative.
Notably, HD Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering, the intermediate holding company for HD Hyundai’s shipbuilding units, has secured orders worth $18.16 billion for 129 vessels so far this year, exceeding its annual target of $18.05 billion. This marks a five-year streak of exceeding its annual order targets since 2021.
Hanwha Ocean has won orders worth $9.83 billion, such as 20 very large crude carriers (VLCCs) and 13 LNG carriers, surpassing last year’s $8.98 billion.
Samsung Heavy Industries has so far reached 76 percent of its $9.8 billion annual order target, landing contracts for nine LNG carriers, nine shuttle tankers, nine container ships, two ethane carriers, 11 crude oil tankers and one preliminary offshore production facility.
“Although Korean shipbuilders have witnessed a rise in revenues, primarily driven by orders for high-value ships such as LNG carriers, China still dominates the world’s shipbuilding market on price-competitiveness,” said an industry source.
“But the US Make American Shipbuilding Great Again or MASGA project, along with Washington’s curbs on Beijing, is likely to give Korea a strategic edge in gaining more share in the global shipbuilding market.”
On Tuesday, President Donald Trump signaled closer ties with Korean shipbuilders by announcing that construction of the US Navy’s new frigates would be led by Huntington Ingalls and Philly Shipyard, which was acquired by Hanwha Ocean.
In October, Huntington Ingalls signed a memorandum of agreement with HD Hyundai to jointly design and build the US Navy’s next-generation logistics support vessels — the first collaboration of its kind between Korea and the US.
hyejin2@heraldcorp.com