S.Korea: Big 4 Shipbuilders Paint Rosy Picture for the Industry

South Korea’s major shipbuilders’ new orders in Q1 this year have surged over five-folds compared to the same period last year. A source from the industry said Thursday that the nation’s four major shipbuilders, including Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI), Samsung Heavy Industries(SHI), Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (DSME) and STX Offshore & Shipbuilding, have obtained orders for 39 units of normal vessels and two units of offshore plants worth $5.409 billion in total in Q1. This marks a 462% year-on-year increase.
HHI, South Korea’s No.1 shipbuilder in terms of remaining orders, did not have a single order of normal vessels from October 2008 until now. However, the company kept the pride by winning orders for construction of gas field project worth $1.4 billion from Myanmar and the world’s biggest round-shape floating production storage offloading (FPSO) worth one billion dollars from Norway.
DSME, keeping a sharp increase from Q4 2009, obtained orders for 15 units of vessels and one unit of offshore plant and posted a total order amount to $1.45billion.
SHI recorded $750 million by winning orders for nine units of oil tankers and one unit of offshore plant. Upon the long-term supply contract with Royal Dutch Shell in 2009, the company plans to sign additional contract for building the body of liquefied natural gas (LNG) FPSO and the superstructure of the FPSO in Q4.
STX Offshore & Shipbuilding also made a good start by obtaining new orders for 15 units worth $460 million, slightly over the outcome of the first half of last year.