It has been a challenging year for South Korean shipbuilding, with largest player Hyundai Heavy Industries among those posting losses due to rising material costs and low shipbuilding prices.

But LNG orders are helping DSME buck that trend. The Korea Development Bank (KDB)-controlled shipyard logged an operating profit of KRW 528bn ($384m) for the first half of this year, with net profit of KRW 433bn on a consolidated basis.