CHINESE shipyards are posting rising numbers of orders for liquefied natural gas (LNG) tankers as South Korean yards are fully booked with orders of their own, reports Reuters.
Three Chinese yards - only one of them having experience building large LNG tankers - won nearly 30 per cent of this year's record orders for 163 new gas carriers, claiming ground in a sector where South Korea usually captures most of the business.
LNG tanker order booked for Chinese yards tripled as China's gas traders and fleet operators sought to secure shipping after freight rates soared following the upending of global energy supply flows by Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
With South Korean shipbuilders swamped by orders to service Qatar's massive North Field expansion, Chinese yards also attracted more foreign bookings, including first overseas orders for some ship makers only recently certified to build membrane-type LNG carriers.
'As more Chinese gas traders engage local shipyards, they will be forced to climb the learning curve and eventually grow the whole industry,' said Li Yao, founder of Beijing-based consultancy SIA Energy.
Chinese shipyards this year won 45 LNG tanker orders worth an estimated US$9.8 billion, about five times their 2021 order values, according to shipping data provider Clarksons Research.
SeaNews Turkey
Three Chinese yards - only one of them having experience building large LNG tankers - won nearly 30 per cent of this year's record orders for 163 new gas carriers, claiming ground in a sector where South Korea usually captures most of the business.
LNG tanker order booked for Chinese yards tripled as China's gas traders and fleet operators sought to secure shipping after freight rates soared following the upending of global energy supply flows by Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
With South Korean shipbuilders swamped by orders to service Qatar's massive North Field expansion, Chinese yards also attracted more foreign bookings, including first overseas orders for some ship makers only recently certified to build membrane-type LNG carriers.
'As more Chinese gas traders engage local shipyards, they will be forced to climb the learning curve and eventually grow the whole industry,' said Li Yao, founder of Beijing-based consultancy SIA Energy.
Chinese shipyards this year won 45 LNG tanker orders worth an estimated US$9.8 billion, about five times their 2021 order values, according to shipping data provider Clarksons Research.
SeaNews Turkey
