South Korean Shipbuilding Orders Drop

New orders received by South Korean shipbuilders dropped 6.7 percent in the first 10 months of this year from a year ago, provisional figures from the Korea Shipbuilders' Association showed. Orders in the 10-month period totaled 7.98 million gt for 145 ships, compared with 8.56 million gt for 145 ships in the same period a year earlier, the association said. New orders received in October this year totaled 2.18 million gt for 35 vessels, it said. Ships completed in the January-October period amounted to 7.96 million gt for 140 ships this year, up from 6.36 million gt for 127 ships in the same period a year before, the association said. South Korea's backlogged orders at the end of October totaled 21.18 million gt for 336 ships, it said.