South Korean shipbuilders secured a record high number of orders for four consecutive quarters. Shipbuilding orders totaled 5.6 million compensated gross tons (CGTs), 3.3 times the orders (1.7 million CGTs) won by Japan in the first quarter of this year, according to overseas market analysts such as Clarkson and Lloyd. Korea posted a 29 percent jump in orders over the same period of last year while Japan saw a reduction of 50 percent in orders. Last year, Korean shipbuilders recorded the biggest orders in its history.

This year, Korea acquired orders for 11 liquefied natural gas (LNG) vessels. These high value-added vessels contributed to the raise of the total value of orders. In the first quarter of this year, the European Union (EU) also did well as its orders rose by 80 percent to 2.3 million CGTs. China performed poorly as its orders fell by 33 percent to 1 million CGTs. Out of the total orders of 10.9 million CGTs in the first-quarter, Korea captured 51 percent, followed by the EU with 21 percent, Japan with 16 percent, and China with 9 percent.