South Korean Shipbuilders Leading Global LPG Carrier Market

KOREA : Clarkson Research Services reported on May 2 that a total of 50 LPG carrier orders were placed worldwide in the first four months of this year and 37 out of the 50 went to South Korean

The number of LPG carrier orders has increased for years. Specifically, it rose from 34 in 2017 to 48 in 2018 and to 65 in 2019, although it stood at 44 last year. This year, the number exceeded last year’s total in just four months.

South Korean shipbuilders are rapidly increasing their presence in the market. In 2016 to 2020, their market share was somewhere between 13 percent and 44 percent. However, Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering won 28 contracts this year alone and Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering won nine contracts this year. Especially, each of the nine is for a very large LPG carrier with a volume of at least 80,000 cubic meters.

According to Clarkson Research Services, the global marine LPG transport volume is estimated to increase from 107 million tons to 113 million tons from this year to next year. It is said that South Korean shipbuilders will be able to benefit the most from this trend in that their LPG fuel supply system technology is second to none in the world.

Source : Business Korea