SIMIC

 South Korea ranked second to China in terms of shipbuilding orders for the second straight month, industry data showed Wednesday.

Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co. and others won orders totaling 230,000 compensated gross tons (CGTs) to build eight ships in April, trailing far behind Chinese shipbuilders that bagged 730,000 CGTs in orders to build 38 vessels, according to London-based Clarkson Research Services Ltd., the world’s leading provider of data for the shipping and shipbuilding industries.

Russia was the No. 3 player after its shipbuilders secured 65,000 CGTs in orders to build seven vessels last month, followed by Japan with 55,000 CGTs in orders for two vessels.

China has been the dominant force for new shipbuilding orders this year, taking up 61 percent of shipbuilding orders placed around the globe in the first four months of the year. South Korea was the runner-up with 17 percent.

Despite the novel coronavirus pandemic, global shipbuilding orders increased for the second straight month. According to Clarkson, shipbuilding orders totaled 1.14 million CGTs last month, up from 890,000 CGTs in March.

In terms of order backlog, China also topped the list with 26.3 million CGTs, or 36 percent of the market, followed by South Korea with 20.77 million CGTs and Japan with 10.48 million CGTs.