China overtook South Korea to become the world's top shipbuilding country for the first time in the first half of the year as it fared better in terms of three major industry indicators, sources said Sunday.
Since overhauling Japan in 2003, South Korea had held the number one position as it ranked first in the world in terms of shipbuilding tonnage, new orders and order backlogs.
According to market researcher Clarkson Research Services Ltd. and the sources, Hyundai Heavy Industries Co., the world's largest shipyard, and other South Korean shipbuilders constructed vessels amounting to 7.47 million compensated gross tons (CGT) in the January-June period, lower than China's 8.01 million CGTs.
In terms of new orders, South Korea clinched 4.62 million CGTs during the six-month period; compared with China's 5.02 CGTs. China's 53.31 million CGTs of total order backlogs also topped South Korea's 49.25 million CGTs.
Given the current trend, China will surely emerge as the world's top shipbuilding nation for all of 2010, market watchers said.