BlackRock has acquired a 5.01% stake in Samsung Heavy Industries, becoming a significant shareholder in the South Korean shipbuilder.

The move comes as Samsung Heavy Industries continues to add new orders. The company has secured $3.1 billion in orders so far this year across 16 vessels, equal to 22% of its annual target of $13.9 billion.

The current order pace also reflects a wider market backdrop in which major Korean and Chinese shipyards continue to hold heavily backloaded order books. That profile indicates that a large share of newbuilding demand remains tied to later delivery slots.

Shipyards have recorded strong order volumes through much of the 2020s, supported by high freight rates in several sectors. The scale of the current cycle can be seen in global delivery timing. At present, 20% of all ships on order worldwide are scheduled for delivery more than three years from now. At the beginning of 2021, only about 5% of the global orderbook had been due for delivery beyond the following three years.

The comparison shows how significantly yard delivery positions have extended during the current cycle.