The shipbuilding sector last month remained the world leader with 51% of all global orders secured based on compensated gross tons. The photo shows the HMM (Hyundai Merchant Marine) Algeciras, the world's largest container vessel built in April last year with Korean technology. (Yonhap News)

By Yoon Sojung

Korea last month retained the top spot in global ship orders by volume for the fourth month in a row, securing 51% of all such orders worldwide.

This was thanks to landing orders for high value-added vessels.

Clarkson Research, a British company analyzing the global shipbuilding and shipping markets, on Feb. 7 said Korea received orders for a combined 930,000 compensated gross tons (CGT) spanning 20 vessels. This was more than half of the global total of 1.8 million CGT for 66 vessels and a 12-fold increase from the 70,000 CGT recorded in the same period last year.

Second place went to China with 510,000 CGT (32 vessels) and third to Japan with 260,000 CGT (12).

Korea swept orders for all high added-value vessels landed last month -- eight large container ships, two very large crude carriers and two LNG carriers.

Prospects for shipbuilding in the first half of this year are optimistic. The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy forecast that orders for container ships will increase due to recovery in postponed orders and the rise in transported cargo.

Since Korean shipbuilders won 51% of all global vessel orders last month, the ministry expressed positivity over the sector's prospects in this year's first half.

arete@korea.kr