Korean Media: South Korean Shipbuilding Continues to Lose in the Order Battle with China!
On October 29, the Korean media "Seoul Economic Daily" published an article stating that although South Korean shipbuilding is becoming an important partner in the "Make American Shipbuilding Great Again" (MASGA) plan aimed at rebuilding the US shipbuilding industry, its status is continuously rising, but it has repeatedly lost to China in the global order market.
It is reported that the world's second-largest shipping company, Denmark's Maersk Group, has decided to entrust the construction of up to 12 LNG dual-fuel container ships planned for purchase this year to Chinese shipbuilders. It is reported that the companies ultimately considered by Maersk are China New Era Shipbuilding and Yangzijiang Shipbuilding. If the transaction is successfully completed, the order value is expected to be between 2.5 billion and 2.8 billion dollars.
It is reported that South Korean HD Hyundai Heavy Industries and Hanwha Ocean participated in Maersk's bid, trying to obtain a large-scale order opportunity, but they lagged behind Chinese shipbuilding companies in price competitiveness. For example, the price of large LNG dual-fuel container ships from South Korean shipyards is about 30 million dollars higher per vessel than those from Chinese shipyards.
Recently, the global shipbuilding industry has frequently awarded large orders to Chinese shipbuilders who have price competitiveness. In July, the world's largest maritime company, Switzerland's MSC, ordered 20 container ships from five Chinese shipyards. Then, in August, French CMA CGM entrusted the construction of 10 LNG dual-fuel container ships to China Dalian Shipbuilding & Engineering. It is reported that both shipping companies weighed options between South Korea and China, and finally chose China because China had a competitive advantage in price and delivery time.
South Korean industry is increasingly concerned that China is rapidly catching up in the next generation of environmentally friendly vessels such as LNG, methanol, and ammonia, threatening the technical advantages of South Korean shipbuilders. Since 2018, China has been accelerating its technological and human resource investments to keep pace with global maritime environmental regulations.
According to statistics from the Norwegian Classification Society (DNV), among the 43 ammonia and methanol fuel ships ordered globally in the first half of this year, only six were from South Korea, while Chinese companies obtained at least 20 orders. An industry insider said, "The latest Maersk order will obviously fall into Chinese hands," and added, "It is currently unclear how long the technical strength and process reliability advantages of South Korean shipyards can last."
Original: www.toutiao.com/article/1847317512928256/
Statement: This article represents the views of the author.