Korea Shipyards’ LNG Skill Beats China Bulk Focus: Freight

South Korean shipbuilders’ focus on the most complicated and expensive vessels has allowed them to double their share of global orders this year as China’s low-end strategy fails to pay off.

Hyundai Heavy Industries Co., Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co. and Samsung Heavy Industries Co., the world’s three largest shipyards, have won 40 percent of orders in 2011 as higher oil prices spur demand for liquefied-natural gas tankers and drill ships. Chinese yards’ 2011 contract tally is worth about 25 percent of Korea’s, based on Clarkson Plc data, as a glut of commodity ships damps demand in their main market.