South Korean shipyards ranked first in global ship order book for the second month in a row in May.

Korean shipbuilders last month won the biggest orders worth 790,000 compensated gross tons (CGTs) or 21 ships, according to U.K.-based industry monitor Clarkson Research Services Ltd. on Monday. China and Japan followed up with 17 ships worth 320,000 CGT and three orders equivalent to 80,000 CGT, respectively.

Suggesting pickup in global demand, total orders for ships amounted to 1.66 million CGT or 50 ships last month, doubling April’s 850,000 CGT or 34 ships.

Cumulative new orders over the first five months of this year reached 6.53 million CGT or 238 ships, up 650,000 CGT from the same period last year of 5.88 million CGT or 237 ships.

Korea came first in combined January-May weighted orders with 2.07 million CGT (57 vessels), outpacing China with 1.84 million CGT (101 vessels). Italy won 740,000 CGT and Finland 670,000 CGT. Japan ranked fifth with 380,000 CGT.

Global backlog amounted to 76.19 million CGT, down from last month’s 76.94 million CGT.

Korea recorded an order backlog of 17.49 million CGT as of May, up 150,000 CGT from April’s 17.34 million CGT.

Korea has become the second in backlog scoreboard after China.

By Moon Ji-woong

[ⓒ Pulse by Maeil Business Newspaper & mk.co.kr, All rights reserved]