Big 3 Top $10 Bil. in Ship Orders

Korean shipbuilders are enjoying soaring sales this year after succeeding in shifting their main business from cheap container ships to expensive special-purpose vessels and offshore platforms.

The orders received by each of the big three firms _ Hyundai Heavy Industries, Samsung Heavy Industries and Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering _ have exceeded $10 billion this year for the first time in their history.

Companies said that focusing on high-value vessels and increasing exports of offshore platforms have helped the surge, as well as the upward trend in the price of vessels on the global market.