It's tough at the top

摘要

South Korea may still lead the world in terms of the value of its orderbook, but it has ceded the number one spot to China both in terms of quantity of ships and total deadweight. In 2008 South Korea set a new record for output with 523 ships and a total deadweight of 35.2M tons. In the first seven months of 2009 deliveries amounted to 327 ships for 27.9M dwt, indicating that a new record for deliveries will be set this year. Past success is no guarantee for the future, however, and 2009 is set to be recorded as Korean shipbuilders' toughest year for new orders. In the first six months just six ships were secured compared with 320 ships in the same period last year.