Korean Shipyards Dominate 2005 Value Market

South Korea's shipyards dominated the world's high-value-added ship market last year, the Korea Times reported. South Korean shipbuilders clinched an average 59.3 percent of the orders, compared with Japanese companies with 25.3 percent and Chinese shipyards with 3.9 percent. South Korean shipyards occupied 42.4 percent of the global market for very large container carriers (VLCC) last year, up 6 percentage points from a year earlier. A unit of the carrier costs about $120m. South Korean companies' market share for container ships of 5,000 TEU (20-foot equivalent units) or greater came to 64.3 percent last year, up 2.3 percentage points from the previous year. Its unit price reaches at least $70m. The companies held 71.3 percent of the liquefied natural gas (LNG) carrier market, up 0.1 percentage point from a year ago. An LNG ship is valued at around $200m, unlike other ships, including bulk carriers and petroleum carriers, which are priced at $40m to $50m per unit. Industry analysts forecast that the shipyards, which have been taking orders selectively since 2000, will continue to lead the global industry. South Korea is home to the world's leading shipbuilding companies, including Hyundai Heavy Industries and Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering. (Source: Korea Times)