China's shipbuilding industry holds the lead globally in 2023

China has retained the top position in the shipbuilding market worldwide in 2023, with the sector's three major indicators - output, new orders and backlog - all achieving double-digit rises on year for the first time, and three indicators also held the dominant spot in the global market share for 14 consecutive years, according to the latest release from the China Association of the National Shipbuilding Industry (CANSI) on Wednesday.

Last year, Chinese shipbuilders saw their total vessel output grow by 11.8% on year to 42.32 million deadweight tons (DWT), accounting for 50.2% of the world's total, the CANSI data showed.

Meanwhile, new orders secured by the country's shipyards jumped by 56.4% on year to 71.2 million DWT in 2023, representing 66.6% of the world's total orders last year, said the Association.

By the end of last December, Chinese builders' order backlog came in at 139.39 million DWT, rising by 32% from a year earlier or taking up a 55% share of the global market, according to the release. "China's shipyards can maintain around 3.5 years of steady operations with their current holding orders," CANSI predicted.

"These are inspiring figures that highlight the upward momentum of the Chinese shipbuilding industry in global development and reflect our overall shipbuilding capabilities at present," remarked Li Yanqing, secretary general of CANSI. "I believe using the term 'comprehensive' can better emphasize the achievements we have made in 2023," he notes.

Chinese shipbuilding sector is accelerating its diversified development, marching towards more market segments, according to CANSI.

The world's first M350 type floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel designed independently by China Shipbuilding Dalian was delivered last May, while the country's first homemade large cruise ship Adora Magic City also finished its maiden voyage at the start of 2024 after a handover to its operator last year, the Association illustrated.

Note: This article has been written in accordance with an article exchange agreement between Mysteel Global and SteelMint.