On February 16, South Korea's ** "Daily Economy" published an article saying that as South Korea's shipbuilding industry began to selectively win orders for high value-added ships, Chinese shipyards won orders for "methanol propulsion ships", which is an environmentally friendly and low-carbon ship. In particular, it has been observed that China is expanding orders based on methanol production and capacity, and there are concerns that China will catch up with South Korea, which has so far been the leader in terms of construction capacity and technology.
Recently, Clarkson Research, a British shipbuilding and shipping market analyst, said that Chinese shipbuilding companies won a total of 18 orders for methanol propulsion vessels in January this year. From the perspective of ship types, there are 14 container ships, which have an absolute advantage. On the other hand, since July last year, the three major shipbuilding companies in South Korea (HD Korea Shipbuilding & Marine, Samsung Heavy Industries, and Hanwha Marine) have had zero order performance.
South Korea's methanol propulsion ship orders were sluggish, mainly due to three shipbuilding companies screening orders for smaller ships among high value-added vessels. At present, the three shipbuilding companies have a backlog of orders for 3-4 years and need to make effective use of the dock, and it is difficult for these three companies to win orders for methanol-powered container ships with a large construction area. In the case of container ships, shipping companies also have a tendency to reduce ship prices by ordering more than 6 to 8 ships at a time.
However, there are also ** claims that as China digests the number of methanol propulsion ships and accumulates construction experience, the technological gap with South Korea will narrow. In particular, unlike South Korea, which imports all methanol, China uses its own methanol production and capacity before placing orders, raising concerns. Kim Yong-hwan, a professor at the Department of Naval Architecture and Ocean Engineering at Seoul National University, said: "Compared with five years ago, the power of methanol propulsion vessels produced by Chinese shipyards has reached a level that is sufficient to satisfy ship owners. If China continues to take orders, there will inevitably be concerns about whether it will overtake South Korea. ”