China is the world's third biggest shipbuilder in terms of output, after shipbuilding giants Japan and the Republic of Korea (ROK). In 2005, Japan and ROK accounted for about 70 percent of the global shipbuilding market, while China sailed into third place with 18 percent.

In recent years, China has boosted shipbuilding output by more than 40 percent a year. In the period 2002-2005, China quadrupled capacity from 3.5 million to 12 million dwt.Growth

The boom in China's shipbuilding industry reflects developments in the marine industry, industry officials said.

China's growing need for foreign energy and mineral resources has spurred domestic shipping companies to expand their fleets. But exports are going well too. More than 70 percent of the ships produced in the country's 861 large shipbuilding enterprises are exported.

China kept up the momentum in the first half of 2006. The 357,946 ships produced were valued at 3.4 billion U.S. dollars, up 66.8 percent year on year.

Top destination markets were Germany, Singapore, China's Hong Kong, the Marshall Islands Republic, Malta, Australia, Japan, Panama and the United Kingdom. Each of the nine markets was valued at more than 100 million dollars.

Three types of exported ships each posted sales of more than 500 million dollars: 6,000-and-under TEU container ships (736 million dollars); bulk cargo carriers with a carrying capacity up to 150,000 tons (678 million dollars); and oil tankers up to 100,000 dwt (519 million dollars).

State-owned shipbuilders accounted for 78.1 percent of export sales, Sino-foreign joint ventures 16.8 percent, and privately owned enterprises 5.1 percent.

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