Korea on top position

Korea widened its lead in shipbuilding orders over China in August, cementing its status as the world's top shipbuilding nation, a London-based market researcher said Wednesday (Sept. 26).

Korean shipbuilders such as Hyundai Heavy Industries Co. and Samsung Heavy Industries Co. received a combined 22.1 million compensated gross tons in new orders in August, 3.1 million CGTs more than those won by Chinese rivals, said Clarkson Research Studies.

In the January-April period, China overtook Korea in shipbuilding orders, but Seoul reclaimed the top position in May by obtaining 11.7 million CGTs. According to the market researcher, Korea recorded the largest order backlog of 58.8 million CGTs in the January-August period, followed by China with 44.3 million CGTs and Japan with 30.5 million CGTs. In terms of order backlogs, six Korean companies were among the world's top 10 shipyards, with four Chinese shipbuilders holding the other spots, Clarkson said.

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