Chinese shipbuilders led October LNG carrier orders, securing five of the seven large vessels placed worldwide, compared with two for South Korean yards, according to data from Clarksons Research cited by Yonhap. The October result put China ahead of Korea in the monthly tally, while South Korea retained the lead across the first 10 months of the year.
Global owners ordered 76 large LNG carriers from January through October, more than four times the 17 ordered in the same period of 2025. South Korean builders won 44 vessels, or 57.9% of the total, while Chinese yards took 32, or 42.1%. Chinese shipbuilders had won three large LNG carrier orders in all of 2025, Yonhap reported.
China’s October total included five 174,000-cubic-metre LNG carriers contracted by Malaysia International Shipping Corporation (MISC) at Hudong-Zhonghua Shipbuilding on 16 October. The official China State Shipbuilding Group account said the order brought Hudong-Zhonghua’s LNG carrier backlog to 57 vessels and that its production schedule extended beyond 2030. The yard had also signed contracts with MISC for five carriers in January and February. Its announcement is available in China Shipbuilding Group’s post.
South Korea’s two October vessels were covered by a Samsung Heavy Industries contract disclosed on 2 October. The KRW 672.2 billion deal covers two LNG carriers for an unidentified Asian shipowner, with delivery due by 31 May 2029, according to the filing as reported by Yonhap. Riviera, citing shipbroker Xclusiv, identified the buyer as Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha (K Line), but Samsung’s filing did not name the owner.
Yonhap also reported that HD Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering identified Hudong-Zhonghua Shipbuilding and Jiangnan Shipyard as competitors on an earnings call, citing lower prices and projects linked to Chinese cargo owners as factors behind their growing order books.
