S.Korean shipbuilding orders drops 58.6 pct through Sept.

SEOUL, Oct. 16 (Xinhua) -- South Korean shipbuilding orders dropped 58.6 percent for the first nine months of this year due to the persistent recession in the global shipbuilding industry, a government report showed Tuesday.

New vessel orders won by the country's shipyards totaled 5.2 million compensated gross tonnage (CGT) during the January- September period, down 58.6 percent from the same period last year, according to the Ministry of Knowledge Economy.

The drop was attributed to the recession in the global shipbuilding industry. Global shipbuilding orders declined 48 percent to 14.34 CGT over the cited period due to an oversupply of ships and the prolonged global economic slowdown, the ministry said, adding that demand for container ships and bulk carriers contracted sharply.

Despite the global slump, South Korea kept its position as the world's No.1 shipbuilding country with the market share of 36.3 percent. It was followed by China with a 4.98-million-CGT of orders, or 34.7 percent of the total, and Japan with a 1.66 CGT of contracts, or 11.6 percent of the total.

South Korea's shipbuilding orders were led by contracts for ships related to development and transportation of natural resources such as drill ships, tankers and ships that carry liquefied natural gas (LNG), said the ministry.

South Korean shipbuilders booked all orders for high value- added offshore plants such as floating, production, storage and offloading (FPSO), central processing facility (CPF), floating storage offloading (FSO) and floating storage unit (FSU). Local shipyards won two out of three orders for LPG carriers and 55 percent of contracts for tankers as well as around half of orders for drill ships. Enditem

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