China has added a fifth LNG carrier builder after China Merchants Heavy Industry delivered Celsius Georgetown, increasing pressure on Korean shipyards in the high-value LNG carrier market.

The 180,000-cubic-meter LNG carrier was delivered on Monday to Denmark’s Celsius Shipping. The 298.8 m vessel is the largest LNG carrier built in China. It is the first of six sister vessels ordered by Celsius Shipping, with the second unit scheduled for delivery within three months.

China leads global shipbuilding by volume, but its strength has mainly been in bulk carriers and container ships. LNG carriers have remained a Korean stronghold, with Korean shipbuilders holding about 80% of the global market, compared with China’s 10%.

That position is changing. Since Hudong-Zhonghua Shipbuilding entered LNG carrier construction in 2008, Jiangnan Shipyard, Dalian Shipbuilding, Yangzijiang Shipbuilding, and China Merchants Heavy Industry have also won orders, expanding China’s LNG carrier base.

LNG carriers are among the most complex commercial vessels because they must transport gas at -163°C. Their design, cargo containment and engineering requirements place them at the high end of shipbuilding technology.

At the naming ceremony earlier this month, China Merchants Group chairman Miao Jianmin said the company had entered the global core group for large LNG carrier construction. He also said China would pursue high-tech, intelligent, eco-friendly and international strategies in ports, shipping and shipbuilding during the 15th Five-Year Plan period.

The competitive shift comes as LNG carrier orders rise sharply. Citing data from Poten & Partners and Drewry, Reuters reported that Korean and Chinese shipbuilders signed contracts for 35 LNG carriers in the first quarter of this year, close to the 37 vessels ordered across all of last year.

Pricing is becoming a concern for Korea. Chinese yards have secured at least 13 LNG carrier orders so far this year, reportedly at prices around 4% to 8% below the market average. During the same period, Korea’s three major shipbuilders won nine LNG carrier orders: five for HD Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering, two for Hanwha Ocean, and two for Samsung Heavy Industries.

Some analysts expect the short-term impact on Korea to be limited because China still has fewer LNG carrier construction slots. China’s annual delivery capacity is estimated at 20 to 25 LNG carriers, while Korea can deliver about 60.

However, the technology gap is narrowing. SCMP said China has already caught up with Korea in several shipbuilding technology areas and that Korea may have only two to three years to maintain its lead unless it develops new technologies.