South Korean shipyard aims to secure over US$18b in new orders in 2025

South Korean shipbuilder HD Korea Shipbuilding and Offshore Engineering (KSOE) has announced plans to secure more orders in new ships in 2025 compared to the previous year, with a focus on high-end and environment-friendly vessels.

KSOE has set an annual order target of US$18.12 billion in 2025, an increase of 34 per cent from its target of US$13.5 billion in 2024.

The company also said it continues to be optimistic about the 2025 shipping market.

Among the three shipyards under KSOE, HD Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) has an order target of US$9.75 billion in 2025, HD Hyundai Samho set it at US$4.57 billion, and HD Hyundai Mipo is aiming for US$3.8 billion.

In 2024, KSOE secured a total of 181 newbuilding orders with a total value of US$20.56 billion, achieving 152.2 per cent of the annual order target of US$13.5 billion.

The orders include eight LNG carriers, seven LNG bunkering vessels, 62 product tankers, 50 LPG/ammonia carriers, 24 containerships, three ethane carriers, two liquefied carbon dioxide carriers, six very large crude carriers, seven oil tankers, two car carriers, and one floating storage and regasification unit.

According to the 2025 Shipping and Shipbuilding Industry Outlook released by the Overseas Economic Research Institute of the Export-Import Bank of Korea, global newbuilding orders are expected to reach 42 million combined gross tons (CGT) in 2025, down 28.8 per cent from 59 million CGT in 2024.