Such is the length of the orderbooks at South Korea’s top yards that an unprecedented business partnership has been formed between Samsung Heavy Industries and Hanhwa Ocean, the shipbuilder formerly known as Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering.
Korea’s top yards are struggling to keep up their production schedules, with orderbooks stretching deep into 2027.
Samsung Heavy has this week contracted Hanwha Ocean to build blocks for a number of containerships it has on its books, the first time the two rivals have worked together.
In a previous shipbuilding boom 16 years ago, Samsung Heavy had Chinese yards which it used for block construction. It has gradually hived off its Chinese subsidiaries in the intervening years.
Global shipyard forward cover over the last year has hit the highest levels since back in 2009 following the historic ordering boom from 2006 to 2008, according to data from Clarksons Research.
Danish Ship Finance is forecasting yard utilisation in South Korea will stand at 107% this year.
The Review of Maritime Transport 2023, published in September by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), urged shipyards to expand quickly to aid with shipping’s green transition.
“Shipyard capacity is currently facing constraints. Tanker and dry bulk owners are anticipating long waiting times and high building prices. Increasing shipbuilding capacity is crucial to ensure that shipping meets global demand and its sustainability goals,” the UNCTAD report stated.
This is indeed interesting and one can only wonder why the underutilized shipyard(s) in Beautiful British Columbia, with their thousands of idle workers at the Seaspany facilities, watch the ship leasing arm of their Seaspan Group continue to trumpet their shipbuilding capabilities, while continuing to place record-breaking-orders … in Korea & elsewhere … go figure!