They should start expanding overseas, so that the smaller competition can be absorbed. The Koreans are also buying overseas shipyards.
Chinese shipbuilding industry
- Thread starter tphuang
- Start date
They should start expanding overseas, so that the smaller competition can be absorbed. The Koreans are also buying overseas shipyards.
I think CN comp offered to buy a PH shipyard before, but was attacked by PH media etc... and eventually was allegedly sold to a US/SK JV(?)
There is no need for any shipyard to exist outside China, regardless who owns them.
Cleaning robot from COSCO Shipping has been developed to clean bulk carriers. The robot cleaned a 220m bulk carrier in a day, which is a task typically done by humans in three to four days. Even has a curved permanent magnet to 'stick' itself to the hull to reach difficult spots.
Despite a 50% year-on-year decline, China remains firmly in first place.
Source: Longde Shipman 2025-08-20 16:52Chinese shipowners remain the main driving force behind this year's new dry bulk shipbuilding market, particularly for Capesize bulk carriers.
Data from shipbroker BRS Shipbrokers shows that from January to July 2025, despite a nearly 50% year-on-year decline in orders from Chinese shipping companies, China still ranked as the world's largest ship ordering country.
BRS pointed out: "This decline is not significantly related to the recent proposals put forward by the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR), but rather due to the unusually large order volume from Chinese shipowners in 2024."
Despite the overall decline in orders, orders for Capesize bulk carriers in China increased by approximately 37% year-on-year, with a total of 30 new ships ordered. BRS attributes this growth to COSCO Shipping's "Made in China, Transported by China" strategy launched in 2024, which is driving an ambitious plan to build 100 ships.
For example, in July this year, , with Zhoushan COSCO Shipping Heavy Industry and Beihai Shipbuilding constructing 6 and 4 vessels respectively. Furthermore, in June this year, .
While Chinese shipowners continue to place orders, Greek shipowners, long regarded as a market bellwether, have significantly reduced their order volumes this year and have fallen out of the top five global shipbuilding nations. Greek shipowners have dropped from second place in 2024 to sixth place in 2025, with orders for only one Kamsarmax-type bulk carrier and two Handymax-type bulk carriers.
In the Panamax and Supramax bulk carrier segments, new ship orders from China and Greece have both seen a significant decline.
Data shows that from January to July 2025, global dry bulk carrier orders fell by 63% year-on-year, with only 165 vessels ordered, totaling 15.5 million deadweight tons: Supramax bulk carriers accounted for 55% of orders, Capesize accounted for 23%, and Panamax and Handymax combined accounted for 11%.
Whether calculated by deadweight tonnage or number of vessels, order volumes in 2025 will reach their lowest level in a decade—well below the 10-year average of 485 vessels. This stands in stark contrast to the record peak in 2024, when order volumes reached 63.9 million deadweight tons for the year, the highest in a decade.
BRS attributes the decline in order volume to persistently high ship prices, regulatory and technological uncertainties, and geopolitical and trade policy shocks.
This is one of the most consequential civilian ships you can find.
The vessels will be widely used in domestic and international port dredging, deep-sea sand extraction, land reclamation, deep-sea mining, trench excavation and backfilling, gravel base beds, and deep-sea pipeline laying.
You can do your own analysis on just how important this is.