Korean Shipbuilding

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Daewoo Shipbuilding & sMarine Engineering has received an order for a high-end ship for the first time in five months. Samsung Heavy Industries is also expecting new deals later this year and early next year, raising prospects of a better year for Korean shipbuilders.

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Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering has received an order to build a liquefied natural gas floating storage and regasification unit from the largest shipping company in Greece. LNG-FSRUs act as offshore plants for extracting liquefied petroleum gas from the sea. They cost more than 170 million U.S. dollars per unit. It is Daewoo's first large shipbuilding deal in five months.

[Soundbite] Kim Hyung-shik(Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering) : "We hope that we will have a better year in 2017 after receiving the order for a high added-value ship and securing sufficient funds."

Korean shipbuilders have suffered from their weakest ever performance this year. As of last month, Hyundai Heavy Industries received orders worth 2.7 billion dollars, Daewoo 1.3 billion dollars and Samsung 800 million dollars, barely managing to exceed 10 percent of their targets set earlier in the year. However, 2017 appears to be more promising, as demand for offshore plants is predicted to rise due to stricter environmental regulations and soaring oil prices, while orders for merchant ships will likely grow after a long period of stagnation.

[Soundbite] Official, Samsung Heavy Industries : "We expect orders for LNG-related ships. We plan to focus on orders that combine LNG-related projects and eco-friendly technologies."

Korea's shipbuilding sector hopes to avert the crisis next year, on the heels of one of the worst years in its history.