China’s shipbuilding industry keeps global lead in 2021

China’s shipbuilding industry continued to take the lead globally last year, with three major indicators in the sector - completion volume of ships, new shipbuilding orders and holding order volumes - all in leading positions worldwide.

Photo shows the 85,000-ton bulk carrier “SDTR FAITH” built by Shanhaiguan Shipbuilding Industry Co., Ltd. of Dalian Shipbuilding Industry Group under China State Shipbuilding Corporation Limited. (Photo courtesy of Dalian Shipbuilding Industry Group)

The country’s completion volume of ships rose by 3 percent year on year to 39.7 million deadweight tons (dwt) in 2021, data from the China Association of the National Shipbuilding Industry (CANSI) showed. The 2021 shipbuilding output accounted for 47.2 percent of the world’s total, 4.1 percentage points higher than that in 2020.

New shipbuilding orders soared 131.8 percent year on year to 67.07 million dwt in 2021, taking up 53.8 percent of the global total.

Holding order volumes amounted to 95.84 million dwt by the end of last December, up 34.8 percent year on year and accounting for 47.6 percent of the global market share.

Meanwhile, the international competitiveness of major Chinese shipyards was further enhanced last year, with six companies ranking among the world’s top 10 shipbuilders in terms of completion volume of ships, new orders and holding order volumes, respectively.

China remained the world’s top shipbuilder in 2021 despite complex and severe situations such as the COVID-19 pandemic and the soaring price of raw material, said Li Yanqing, CANSI’s secretary-general.

The rapid growth of China’s shipbuilding industry last year can be partly attributed to the booming global market, as huge demand for ships and rising shipping costs across the globe encouraged ship owners to place more orders.

Li said the global shipping market saw explosive growth thanks to the global economic recovery, which underpins the recovery of new shipbuilding orders.

Meanwhile, the International Maritime Organization, a specialized agency under the United Nations responsible for regulating shipping, has intensified efforts to improve energy efficiency and reduce carbon emissions of vessels such as container ships, gas carriers, and general cargo ships, contributing to sound market expectations.

Against this backdrop, Chinese shipyards have rolled out multiple green vessels that meet the international environmental protection requirements, following the trend of the green and low-carbon transition in the world.

Li introduced that orders of ships powered by green energy such as liquefied natural gas and methanol accounted for 24.4 percent of all China’s new shipbuilding orders in 2021.

The structural transformation has injected strong impetus into the development of China’s shipbuilding industry. In 2021, new orders of bulk and container vessels received by Chinese shipyards took up 76.4 percent and 60.9 percent of the world’s total, respectively. Chinese shipyards continued to make progress in high-end ships last year, with orders of chemical tankers, car carriers, offshore support vessels, and multi-purpose vessels in terms of deadweight tons accounting for over 50 percent of the global market share, respectively.