Shipbuilders see smooth sailing ahead

As shipowners around the world place more orders and accelerate efforts to decarbonize their fleets, China's shipbuilding sector is moving further up the value chain, driven by technological breakthroughs and the localization of critical marine systems, said experts and shipbuilders.

China's shipbuilding output reached 36.5 million deadweight tons (DWT) in the first half, up 51.2 percent year-on-year and accounting for 62.2 percent of the global total, while new orders climbed to 121.06 million DWT, surging 173.1 percent and representing 82.3 percent of the global market, said the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.

As of the end of June, the sector's order book — a key indicator of long-term market strength — stood at 363.25 million DWT, up 54.9 percent year-on-year and accounting for 71.2 percent of the global total.

Li Yanqing, vice-chairman of the China Association of the National Shipbuilding Industry (CANSI), said the lion's share of new orders came from bulk carriers, container ships and oil tankers. Together, these three segments accounted for more than 75 percent of global orders in the first half.

Li said liquefied natural gas (LNG) carriers also accounted for roughly 14 percent of new orders globally, with Chinese shipyards making significant inroads.

China exported 3,412 vessels — including car carriers, chemical tankers, offshore support vessels and heavy-lift vessels — during the January-June period, a year-on-year increase of 0.7 percent, while export value climbed 24.9 percent year-on-year to 219.32 billion yuan ($32.41 billion), said CANSI.

Zhang Hongpeng, a professor at Dalian Maritime University in Liaoning province, attributed the industry's profit growth to higher new-build prices, stable steel costs and improved management efficiency, coupled with continued management improvements at domestic shipyards that have boosted operational efficiency.

These factors have not only boosted profitability, but also raised the value of China's ship exports, as shipyards increasingly deliver high-end vessels rather than chasing volume alone, said Zhang.

In Taizhou, Jiangsu province, a large LNG carrier was docked at a shipyard pier in mid-July awaiting its sea trial. Meanwhile, another vessel of the same class had already completed its trial and was ready for delivery and export. This marked the first large LNG carrier independently built by a private Chinese shipbuilder — Jiangsu Yangzi Xinfu Shipbuilding Co.

Zhou Yong, the shipyard's chief builder, said the company's experience in constructing LNG carriers and chemical tanks for other vessel types has been applied to the LNG carrier project.

"From hull block fabrication to specialized tooling and welding techniques, everything has been integrated into our in-house technology platform," Zhou said, adding that the vessel's localization rate currently exceeds 65 percent.

Beyond rising LNG carrier orders, green technologies are also adding value to conventional shipbuilding. Nantong Xiangyu Shipbuilding &Offshore Engineering Co in Nantong, Jiangsu, has fitted its flagship bulk carriers with vortex-fin devices that convert wake rotation into auxiliary thrust, enabling them to sail about 0.5 knots faster without increasing fuel consumption.

Qin Weimin, the company's president, said 37 vessels are scheduled for delivery in 2026, most of them destined for overseas markets, with output value expected to exceed 10 billion yuan.

Jiangsu recorded 71.86 billion yuan in ship exports between January and June, the largest export scale among all provincial-level regions nationwide, according to information released by Nanjing Customs.