 | |
A drill ship by Samsung Heavy Industries
|
 |
|
The most expensive ship among the orders Korean shipbuilders have won this year is a US$630 million drill ship. Samsung Heavy Industries won a contract from Sweden in October to build the 97,000-ton drill ship, which is 228 m long and 19 m tall. In terms of price, the ship costs the equivalent of five 300,000-ton crude oil carriers (VLCCs) or two or three LNG ships. Drill ships drill for crude oil in deep, choppy waters where installing a permanent platform is difficult. It is controversial whether drill ships can be considered ships at all, but the Korea Shipbuilders¡¯ Association regards them as such.
The next most expensive orders were also for drill ships, worth $550-590 million in second to fifth, which were won by Samsung Heavy Industries from European countries including Norway.
Excluding drill ships, a $284 million LNG ship is the most expensive order, won by Samsung Heavy Industries from Qatar in March. The next are a $283 million LNG vessel and a $280 million LNG-RV or regasification vessel which were won by Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering from Qatar and Samsung Heavy Industries from Norway.
The Korea Shipbuilders¡¯ Association said the shipbuilding industry has created an enormous amount of added value this year, considering that $200 million is a huge sum even for construction of a large building in Seoul. Korean shipbuilders enjoyed a brisker market than ever this year.
(englishnews@chosun.com )
|
