South Korea’s Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering has crashed its annual target, netting 104% or $8.04bn worth of orders to date this year.
DSME said it was nudged over the line with the contracts to build four LNG carriers for Mitsui OSK Lines, which have been contracted against charters with Russia’s Novatek in September. But as of August, the yard’s total new orders had already exceeded 2020’s total.
The shipbuilder said its current order backlog is about $22.2bn, which means it has secured work for more than two years.
DSME said it is the first time it has achieved its order target since 2014 when it netted a whopping $14.9bn worth of contracts. But it said orders then plummeted due to a sharp deterioration in the market.
The shipbuilder said that of the 43 ships it has on order, 32 are being built with dual-fuel propulsion.
Twenty three of the newbuildings are being built with LNG dual-fuelled propulsion systems. They include six LNG carriers — MOL’s four and another two for Hyundai LNG Shipping, Hapag-Lloyd’s six ultra-large containerships, 10 VLCCs contracted against Shell charters and one for Adnoc Logistics & Services.
The Okpo-based yard is also building a further nine LPG-fuelled VLGCs — four for Avance Gas, three for Zodiac Maritime and two for Hyundai LNG Shipping.
But despite the order haul, the yard is still bleeding red ink as material and steel costs soared in advance of newbuilding prices. The yard reported a net loss of KRW 1.3trn ($1.1bn) in the first half of 2021.
DSME is also still waiting to hear on its long-planned merger with compatriot giant Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering (KSOE).
In July, the merger was delayed by three months to the end of September and the deadline could be extended again as it awaits European Union approval for the tie-up.
DSME, which also builds naval vessels, said its total tally for the year to date is 46 vessels.
These comprise 16 containerships, 11 VLCCs, nine VLGCs, six LNG carriers, one wind turbine installation vessel, a lone submarine, and two offshore plants, worth about $8.04bn in total.
