South Korean Shipbuilders Report Strong H1 as Orders Shift from China
The South Korean shipbuilding industry experienced a strong rebound in orders during the first half of 2025, and especially so in the containership segment. The Korea Development Bank’s overseas economic research institute issued the report on July 29 and attributed much of the gains to concerns over the fees the United States plans to impose starting later this year on Chinese-operated or built shipping.
The report highlights a strong overall increase in orders for the Korean builders, which achieved a 25.1 percent market share for the first six months of the year. This was up from 17.2 percent last year and came despite an overall slowing in shipbuilding orders. The report indicates that this was especially significant, as in 2024, South Korea’s shipbuilding orders were at the lowest levels in eight years. For the full year, South Korea only received 15 percent of the global orders placed in 2024.
Globally, newbuild orders were off in 2025 after the past few years and as economic and trade concerns grow. Orders on a compensated gross tonnage basis were off by 54.5 percent to 19.39 million CGT. While most sectors showed a softness, orders for liquified natural gas carriers fell nearly 83 percent to just over 1 million CGT as Qatar completed its orders and others have held back after the sector surged, and as new fears over the USTR, which has said it will require a portion of LNG exports on U.S.-owned vessels.
One sector that has not slowed is containerships. Korea, in recent years, has largely ceded the sector to China, which has a cost advantage. However, as the ships have gotten more complex and sought alternative fuels, it has created an opportunity for the Korean builders who have strong positions with methanol and LNG-fueled vessels.
With the looming U.S. fees, South Korea reports containerships were half its order volume in 2025, or a total of 4.87 million CGT. This was up from just two orders that went to Korean shipyards for containerships in the first half of 2024. HD Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering, the parent company of HD Hyundai’s shipbuilders, reports it has received so far in 2025 orders for 50 containerships. In total, it said it has achieved nearly two-thirds (62.2 percent) of its order target for 2025, or orders valued at $11.22 billion.
The China Association of the National Shipbuilding Industry (CANSI) issued data that showed a strong performance and maintained leadership in 2025. However, it did admit to a decline in output for 3.5 percent (DWT) versus 2024. They said the orderbook had increased 36 percent so far in 2025, but that new orders on a DWT basis were down 18 percent so far in 2025.
A further positive sign for the Korean shipbuilders has been a rebound in profitability. Hanwha Ocean returned to profitability in the second quarter with a 30 percent increase in revenues. Similarly, Samsung Heavy Industries said sales were up six percent while operating profit was up nearly 57 percent. It notes that this was the first time since 2024 that Samsung Heavy Industries’ quarterly operating profit exceeded 200 billion won ($144 million).
The industry remains optimistic as it looks to opportunities to work with the United States. It also believes it will benefit both from the USTR's efforts to rein in China’s shipbuilding industry and the U.S. plans to enhance building and repair for the Navy.