China took 72% of global shipbuilding orders by compensated gross tonnage in the first half of 2026, while South Korea accounted for 19%, according to Clarksons Research data.
Global newbuilding orders rose 66% year on year to 42.95m CGT across 1,481 vessels in January-June, compared with 25.90m CGT and 1,101 vessels in the same period of 2025.
Chinese shipyards secured 31.00m CGT across 1,131 vessels, up 113% year on year. South Korean yards won 7.97m CGT across 195 vessels, a 60% increase from a year earlier.
The figures left a 53-percentage-point gap between China and South Korea in first-half order share.
In June, global orders totalled 5.25m CGT across 200 ships, down 9% from May but 3% higher than in June 2025. China accounted for 4.45m CGT and 171 vessels in June, or 85% of the monthly total. South Korea took 500,000 CGT and 13 vessels, equal to a 9% share.
South Korean yards had a higher average order size in the first half, at about 38,000 CGT per ship, compared with 26,000 CGT for Chinese yards. The difference reflected South Korea’s focus on LNG carriers and other high-value vessels.
The global orderbook stood at 206.59m CGT at the end of June, up 2.14m CGT from the previous month. China held 134.03m CGT, or 65% of the total backlog, while South Korea held 38.81m CGT, or 19%. Newbuilding prices remained stable.
The Clarksons Newbuilding Price Index stood at 185.15 at the end of June, up from 185.01 a month earlier and about 33% above its level in June 2021.
LNG carrier newbuilding prices stood at $248.5m, VLCCs at $130.5m and 22,000-TEU to 24,000-TEU container ships at $261.5m.
Clarksons Research is the data and analytics business of Clarksons. It provides shipping, trade, offshore and energy transition datasets through products including Shipping Intelligence Network and World Fleet Register.