China extends lead in global shipbuilding as South Korea focuses on high-value vessels in Shipbuilding News 10/07/2026 China maintained its dominance in the global shipbuilding market in the first half of this year, accounting for 72 percent of global orders. South Korean shipbuilders held just 19 percent, as they focused instead on high-value ships like liquefied natural gas (LNG) carriers. According to data released by London-based Clarkson Research Services on Monday, cumulative global ship orders in the first six months of this year reached 42.95 million compensated gross tons (CGT), or 1,481 vessels, up 66 percent from 25.90 million CGT or 1,101 vessels a year earlier. China won orders for 31 million CGT or 1,131 ships, taking 72 percent of the total, up 113 percent from the same period of last year, while South Korea logged 7.97 million CGT or 195 ships for a 19 percent share. As for June, global ship orders totaled 5.25 million CGT or 200 ships, down 9 percent from 5.76 million CGT in May but up 3 percent from 5.09 million CGT a year earlier. South Korea’s average order size per ship stood at 38,000 CGT, compared with China’s 26,000 CGT. The industry attributed the gap to South Korean shipbuilders’ focus on high-value vessels. Clarkson’s index measuring the cost of building new ships stood at 185.15 in June, up 0.14 percentage points from the previous month, about 33 percent higher than in June 2021, when the index stood at 138.79. By vessel type, the cost of building a new LNG carrier stood at US$248.50 million, compared with $130.50 million for a very large crude carrier and $261.50 million for an ultra-large container ship in the 22,000-24,000 twenty-foot equivalent unit (TEU) class. Source: AJP 2026-07-10 hellenicshippingnews... tweet Share