In the first quarter of 2026, China's shipbuilding completions, new orders, and order backlog rose 46.0%, 195.2%, and 43.6% year-on-year, respectively, capturing 57.3%, 84.9%, and 69.8% of the global total, maintaining a leading position.
Major shipbuilders are operating at full capacity with order books generally stretching to 2030. Between April and May, China delivered its first 180,000-cubic-meter LNG carrier "George Town," launched the first 24,000-TEU dual-fuel container ship built by a private yard, and completed sea trials for the second domestically built large cruise ship "Adora Huacheng City," scheduled for delivery in November.
Li Yong, deputy general manager of Nantong COSCO KHI Ship Engineering, said the third 24,000-TEU methanol dual-fuel container ship is undergoing assembly; the first vessel in the series, "Oriental Wisdom," was delivered on June 25, equipped with the world's largest methanol dual-fuel main engine, auxiliary engines and boilers. The company's orders are booked to 2030.
Zheng Yiming, assistant to the secretary-general of the China Association of the National Shipbuilding Industry (CANSI), noted that since 2021 the global newbuilding market has experienced five consecutive years of growth, with order backlogs saturated in major shipbuilding nations, and Chinese enterprises have seized the opportunity to further consolidate their leading position. The International Maritime Organization's vision of achieving net-zero greenhouse gas emissions from international shipping around 2050, the rising average age of the global fleet, increased demand for bulk carriers and container ships, and the impact of geopolitical conflicts on LNG carrier and oil tanker demand have all supported high market activity.
Hudong-Zhonghua Shipbuilding holds nearly 60 LNG carrier orders, ranking first globally by aggregate cargo tank volume, and has compressed the construction cycle record for 174,000-cubic-meter LNG carriers to 16 months. China now possesses full-spectrum assembly and construction capability for marine products, including ultra-large LNG carriers, polar icebreaking research vessels, domestically built aircraft carriers, and large cruise ships.
Wison Clean Energy Technology Group's new offshore equipment base in Qidong has entered trial production. The company focuses on FLNG and floating production storage and offloading facilities. Assistant general manager Li Linwei said that by mastering liquefaction process applications and ultra-low temperature storage tank technology, the company has secured the first large-scale FLNG project contracted by a Chinese enterprise on a turnkey basis, breaking a foreign monopoly.
The shift to high-end products is evident, with dual-fuel ro-pax ferries, large LNG dual-fuel PCTCs, and very large ethane carriers being delivered in batches. Specialized equipment such as large deep-sea aquaculture vessels and rocket recovery ships have also been delivered.
At China Merchants Shipbuilding's Haimen base, a laser-welded sheet line using robotic sorting, AGV automated guided vehicles, work-order-driven cranes, and intelligent cutting machine scheduling has controlled local deformation to ±2 millimeters and compressed block fabrication cycles by 50% compared to traditional workshops. Leading yards have widely adopted robotic cutting lines, intelligent coating lines, digital welding machines, and flexible intelligent welding robots, boosting overall efficiency.
CSSC Power Zhenjiang delivered an 8-cylinder 450DF dual-fuel diesel engine with a single-cylinder power of 1,150 kW and a total power of 9,200 kW, achieving 95% localization and filling a domestic gap in high-power medium-speed engines. The "Johor Princess," built by Hudong-Zhonghua, became the first domestic LNG carrier to be fully equipped with domestically made ultra-low temperature valves for its cargo containment system. CANSI vice president and secretary-general Li Yanqing noted that a stable RMB exchange rate and low steel prices have also increased profit margins for the industry.
With heavy production tasks, Li Yanqing stressed the need to strengthen supply chain management and accelerate smart, digital transformation to ensure stable deliveries. China Merchants Industry Intelligent Technology is conducting intelligent ship navigation experiments, using radar, electronic charts, and visual fusion to achieve intelligent perception, autonomous collision avoidance, and route planning. Deputy general manager Tan Zhurong believes artificial intelligence is profoundly impacting shipbuilding.
In late 2025, Oceanics Elite Marine Engineering (Jiangsu) won a 15-year contract from Petronas for a floating production storage and offloading vessel project, covering design through operations and maintenance, and will, for the first time, use domestically produced "Taihang 7" gas turbines and centrifugal compressors on such a vessel. Lin Chen, director of the Nantong Innovation District Talent and Technology Bureau, said more than 30 shipbuilding-related service enterprises have gathered there, forming a complete industrial chain. CANSI advocates that companies accelerate the development of global marketing and service networks and overseas R&D centers to enhance international market capabilities.