177 ships! Chinese shipyards "monopolize" major orders! South Korea is anxious.
2024-10-24 09:00
The newbuilding market for container ships is booming again this year “ Order boom ” Global shipping giants are actively promoting fleet investment. In this round of market boom, Chinese shipbuilders are far ahead, almost “ taken ” all orders for medium and large container ships, not only consolidating China's leading position in the field of high-end shipbuilding, but also intensifying the competitive pressure on the South Korean shipbuilding industry.
Statistics show that since the beginning of this year, new orders for container ships have reached 250 ships, approximately 290 ten thousand TEU ，which has exceeded 2022 year and 2023 year's annual order volume, setting a record for the third highest in history, second only to 2021 year ( 634 ships 451 ten thousand TEU ) and 2007 year ( 577 ships 333 ten thousand TEU ). Among this year's new ship orders, as many as 80% were undertaken by Chinese shipbuilders, highlighting China's leading position in the global container ship construction field.
Especially in 7000TEU and above medium and large ship segments, a total of 191 new ship orders globally this year, Chinese shipbuilders undertook 177 ships, accounting for 92.7% 。
The absolute advantage of Chinese shipbuilders in the field of container ship construction has aroused vigilance in South Korea. The South Korean shipbuilding industry pointed out that recently, international mainstream shipping giants have continuously ordered a large number of medium and large dual-fuel container ships, all of which have been undertaken by Chinese shipbuilding enterprises. If China continues to monopolize container ship orders, the South Korean shipbuilding industry will inevitably suffer setbacks.
Since the beginning of this year, European shipping giants, who originally preferred to place orders with South Korean shipbuilders, have turned to China. Among them, Hapag-Lloyd, the world's fifth-largest shipping company and a German company, returned to the newbuilding market after a three-year absence, ordering 30 ships LNG dual-fuel container ships, all of which were undertaken by Chinese shipbuilders, including Yangzijiang Shipbuilding 10+5 ships 17000TEU ships, and New Times Shipbuilding 10+5 ships 9200TEU ships. The total value of new ship orders is as high as 52.5 US dollars (approximately RMB 370.98 billion).
This is the first time Hapag-Lloyd has ordered dual-fuel container ships from China. Previously, Hapag-Lloyd's 2020 year to 2021 year orders for 12 ships LNG power 23500TEU container ships were all built by Daewoo Shipbuilding, the predecessor of Hanwha Ocean. This year, in order to compete for this largest order of up to 30 container ships from Hapag-Lloyd, South Korea's HD Hyundai and Hanwha Ocean, two major shipbuilders, also participated in the bidding, but ultimately lost to two major private Chinese shipbuilders.
Meanwhile, Maersk, which previously mainly cooperated with South Korean shipbuilders, invested in the construction of LNG dual-fuel container ships for the first time this year, and most of the first batch of 32 new ships planned to be ordered were also undertaken by Chinese shipbuilders, as many as 22 ships, including New Times Shipbuilding 6+6 ships 16000TEU ships, and Yangzijiang Shipbuilding 6+4 ships 16000TEU ships, with a total value of approximately 44 US dollars (approximately RMB 310.91 billion). South Korea only Hanwha Ocean received 6+4 ships 15000TEU ship orders.
In contrast, when Maersk previously ordered methanol dual-fuel container ships, its orders were basically undertaken by HD Hyundai. It is understood that among the 25 methanol dual-fuel ships ordered by Maersk so far, HD Hyundai undertook 19 orders, including 1 ships 2100TEU feeder vessels, 12 ships 16000TEU and 6 ships 17000TEU ultra-large vessels. China only Yangzijiang Shipbuilding undertook 6 ships 9000TEU methanol dual-fuel ship orders.
In addition, all of the total 46 ships LNG dual-fuel container ships ordered by MSC, the world's largest shipping company, this year were also undertaken by Chinese shipbuilders, including HanTong Shipbuilding Heavy Industry 10 ships 21000TEU ships, Zhoushan Changhong International 12 ships 19000TEU ships, Waigaoqiao Shipbuilding 6 ships 19000TEU ships, Penglai Jinglu Shipbuilding 8 ships 11500TEU ships, and Hengli Heavy Industry 10 ships 21000TEU ships.
Clarkson's data shows that MSC ordered 2022 year at HD Hyundai 6 ships 7900TEU and 6 ships 15000TEU dual-fuel LNG powered container ships, and only placed orders with Chinese shipbuilders in the following two years.
South Korean industry insiders pointed out that these orders show that the new container ship orders, which have been continuously expanding recently due to the impact of rising global shipping freight rates, “ bonus ” Conversely, Chinese shipbuilders have gained the trust of global ship owners with their low prices and fast delivery times, successfully winning the battle for orders against South Korean shipbuilders. In terms of delivery times, the gap between Chinese and South Korean shipbuilders has essentially disappeared.
On the other hand, with the overall increase in newbuilding prices, coupled with the International Maritime Organization (IMO) continuously introducing new environmental regulations and promoting environmentally friendly measures such as dual-fuel technology, 22000~24000TEU The benchmark price for ultra-large container ships has reached 2.73 US dollars, comparable to the price of 17.4 cubic meters LNG transport vessels, so the profitability of building this type of vessel is significantly improving.
In addition to the advantages of high added value, container ships are generally mass-produced, with one design scheme used to build multiple vessels. Therefore, production efficiency is high, the scale effect is significant, the shipyard usage cycle is shorter, and there are also positive aspects for shipyard operation management.
South Korea iM securities researcher Bian Yongzhen said: “ While China continues to receive bulk orders for container ships, South Korea's container ship orders 7 stopped after the month of. Although South Korea's shipbuilding industry currently has a backlog of orders at its highest level since 2008 year, and is not in a hurry to receive orders, seeing Chinese shipbuilders almost monopolizing the container ship market is undeniably a somewhat regrettable outcome. ”
Relevant South Korean industry insiders said: “ It is expected that the trend of ordering environmentally friendly container ships will continue for some time, driven by the replacement of older vessels. The South Korean shipbuilding industry needs to actively pursue an order-taking strategy centered on ultra-large container ships with added value comparable to LNG transport vessels. ”
Related News
Address: No. 6, Xingyuan Avenue, Rucheng Street, Rugao City, Jiangsu Province
Tel: 86-513-87268999、86-513-7268666
Fax: 86-513-87268998
Email: info@ntlw.com
WeChat：15335077201
WeChat Official Account
Video account
Douyin account
Copyright © 2025 Nantong Liwei Machinery Co., Ltd.丨Powered by:www.300.cn丨SEO