On February 8, South Korea's "Herald Economy" published an article saying that it believes that South Korea's shipbuilding industry will continue to maintain a good momentum this year based on the increase in orders for environmentally friendly high value-added ships.
As the shipbuilding industry ushers in a supercycle, ship orders surge. However, for the third year in a row, South Korea has ceded the No. 1 position in global shipbuilding orders to China, which focuses on "low-cost orders".
Last year, China accounted for 60% of the overall ship orders, far exceeding South Korea (24%). However, orders for ordinary ships have been taken away from China, and South Korea has an overwhelming share of orders in the high-value-added ship market, which is highly profitable and requires cutting-edge technological capabilities.
In particular, among high value-added ships, ultra-large ammonia carriers have become a new strategic ship type in the Korean shipbuilding industry after LNG carriers.
In terms of carbon neutrality, South Korea has established a monopoly system, since the beginning of this year, China has not received orders for ammonia carriers, South Korea has monopolized 100% of ammonia ship orders, and the number of orders has surged recently, in line with the decarbonization trend of the global market to achieve "net zero".
According to Clarkson, a British shipbuilding and shipping market analysis company, as of now, a total of 15 ultra-large ammonia carriers have been ordered worldwide this year, and the three major shipbuilding companies in South Korea, including HD Korea Shipbuilding & Marine, Samsung Heavy Industries, and Hanwha Marine, have all contracted orders, with an order share of 100%.
From the perspective of companies, HD Korea Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering received the largest number of orders with 11 vessels, followed by Samsung Heavy Industries with 2 vessels and Hanwha Marine with 2 vessels. The order coverage area includes Oceania, Latin America, Europe, etc.
Considering that a total of 21 contracts were signed for ammonia carrier orders last year, the analysis believes that the pace of orders is accelerating.
Last year, South Korea received orders for 15 ammonia carriers, with a global order share of 714%。China, which competed with South Korea, took 6 ships.
Clarkson Research predicts that in the global carbon transition, the average annual order volume of ammonia carriers will reach 120 in the next 20 years. Therefore, ammonia carriers have become a new characteristic type of ships in the Korean shipbuilding industry after LNG carriers, and the market share of LNG carriers among Korean enterprises has reached more than 80%.
According to the analysis, South Korean shipbuilders have concentrated on LNG carriers in the past two years, but now they have begun to actively undertake orders for ultra-large ammonia carriers, mainly because the orders for LNG carriers that support South Korea's order volume will drop sharply this year, so ammonia carriers are selected as new projects.
Global ammonia production is expected to increase from 1500 million tonnes to 300 million tonnes. The industry agrees that this will lead to an explosive increase in demand for ammonia carriers. The Korean shipbuilding industry has been increasing orders in the high value-added ship market since the beginning of this year, and the business outlook for this year is brighter.
An official from the Korean shipbuilding industry said, "Korean shipbuilders have high technological capabilities, and based on the super gap technology, they are in a favorable position to seize the high-value market, and they are in a favorable position to receive orders in the high-value-added ship market." The current order for ammonia carriers in South Korea is a positive sign for the Korean shipbuilding industry. ”
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