By Kim Yoo-chul
Staff Reporter
While South Korean shipbuilders continue to enjoy another brisk year thanks to their technological edge, officials from the world’s big three shipyards clarified Monday that they will focus on winning more ``strategic’’ orders to sustain the current upward momentum.
Hyundai Heavy Industries, the world’s biggest shipyard, has come up with a strategy to win more very large crude carriers (VLCCs) to meet the growing demand for such ships.
``At this moment, our company is still looking at various large-sized carriers such as bulk and drill ships. However, we will pay more attention to VLCCs because orders for oil carriers have relatively been weak for the past couple years,’’ a spokesperson for Hyundai Heavy said.
Hyundai received orders worth $5.7 billion in February, including 318,000 ton VLCCs. The company is also said to have won two VLCC buildings from Korea line Corp.
According to company officials, the delivery of the 320,000 ton tankers is set for late 2010 and early 2011 with the pair costing at least $300 million.
Samsung Heavy, the world’s third-largest shipbuilder, plans to win more drill ship orders in the belief that exploration projects will regain momentum this year.
Since 2005, Samsung has won orders to build 20 drill ships, pushing its global market share in the segment to 67 percent.
Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering (DSME) also continues to win a large volume of orders for container ships as it did in the past. ``We think demand for container ships will rise,’’ its Chief Executive Nam Sang-tae said.
Early this month, DSME signed a contract with a European ship owner for eight ``panamax’’ container ships worth about $620 million.
Since last year, the company has been concentrating on winning orders for such ships, which are known to be highly profitable. Among the 135 ship orders it received last year, 80 were orders for container ships. And among the 80 container ship orders, 31 were super-size container ships of 10,000-TEU or larger.