The lights are on at Hanwha Ocean’s shipyard on Geoje Island, South Gyeongsang Province, Dec. 17, 2025. Yonhap
The shipbuilding industry is expected to remain one of the biggest contributors to Korea’s economy in 2026, supported by rising demand for liquefied natural gas (LNG) carriers in the United States and the full-scale launch of the “Make American Shipbuilding Great Again (MASGA)” project.
The industry’s business sentiment for the first quarter of 2026 rose 19 points from the previous quarter to 96, well above the overall average of 77, according to a recent survey conducted by the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
The Korea Economic Research Institute also projected that higher ship and semiconductor exports will play a key role in increasing the nation’s total exports by 0.8 percent in 2026.
“The shipbuilding industry will continue receiving a healthy amount of orders, particularly for high-value-added vessels and naval ships,” the institute said.
Despite a global downturn in shipbuilding orders in 2025 — which nearly halved the volume of orders placed with Chinese firms — Korea’s three major shipbuilders still met their annual order targets.
HD Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering, an intermediate holding company under HD Hyundai that oversees the group’s shipyards, secured orders for at least 133 ships worth a combined $18.1 billion, surpassing its $18 billion target.
Hanwha Ocean, which has not announced annual targets since 2024, won orders for at least 51 ships worth $9.8 billion in total, exceeding the $8.9 billion recorded a year earlier.
Samsung Heavy Industries signed contracts worth $6.6 billion, topping its $5.8 billion order goal.
According to London-based market tracker Clarkson Research Services, global shipbuilding orders in the first 11 months of 2025 dropped 37 percent year-on-year to 44.9 million compensated gross tons (CGT).
Although orders for Korean shipbuilders fell 5 percent to 10 million CGT, orders to their Chinese competitors plunged 47 percent to 26.6 million CGT amid Washington’s efforts to curb China’s maritime expansion.
With new LNG development projects set to begin in the U.S., Korean shipbuilders now plan to concentrate on securing orders for LNG carriers in 2026. Clarkson Research Services forecasts global orders for LNG carriers will climb 24 percent from 2025 to 115 vessels in 2026.
The MASGA project, which aims to revitalize U.S. shipyards through Korean investment and played a role in the Korea-U.S. tariff agreement of 2025, is also expected to deepen cooperation between shipbuilders in both countries. The Korean government and shipbuilders plan to open two “masters’ academies” in the U.S. in 2026 to train American shipyard workers.
U.S. President Donald Trump also described Hanwha as a “good company” when announcing on Dec. 22 that the U.S. Navy will work with the Korean company for its new frigate construction project.