SEOUL, July 9 (Reuters) – South Korea's foreign ship orders soared during the first half of the year after a steep two-year slump, and the recovery will continue, the economy ministry said on Thursday.

South Korean companies won foreign contracts to build 207 vessels with a total capacity of 4.62 million compensated gross tonnes (CGT) during the first half of the year, up 450 percent from the  same 2009 period, the ministry said in a statement.

South Korea won more than 3.20 million CGT in orders in the whole of last year, when foreign ship orders dropped sharply for a second consecutive year, the ministry said.

South Korea won 38 percent of the total new ship orders awarded globally during the six-month period in terms of capacity, second only to China, which took up 45 percent of total orders, the ministry said.

Despite the recovery in new orders, ship deliveries fell 13 percent in terms of capacity in the six months from a year earlier after a 1 percent drop in the whole of last year, it said.

The ministry said new ship orders would continue to post hefty growth in coming months on the back of a sustained recovery in the global shipping industry.

The shipbuilding industry accounts for about 10 percent of South Korea's total exports in terms of the value of ships delivered and the industry's performance has a strong influence on the local foreign exchange market.

South Korea is home to some of the world's largest shipbuilders, including Hyundai Heavy Industries and Samsung Heavy Industries.

Meanwhile, South Korea's Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering , the world's second largest shipbuilder, said it had won orders worth $300 million to build two oil carriers and two chemical product carriers.

Daewoo said in a statement that the orders came from Kuwait Oil Tanker Company and an unidentified European company.