Re: In 1840, CHina has the highest GDP in the world but.....
I dont think so, I lost my original source but I supose Wiki will have to do as it quotes 2008 production figures.
World shipbuilding industry in the 21st century
The global shipbuilding industry is currently dominated by South Korea, which is by far the world's largest shipbuilding nation. In spite of high labour costs, South Korea produced more ships in 2008 than the entire rest of the world's combined output. Its preeminence in the industry is largely due to South Korea's highly advanced shipbuilding technology, the strong work ethic of the labor force and the high productivity and efficiency of South Korean shipyards.
World shipbuilding production by countries (2008)[10]
Rank Country 10,000 GT %
1 South Korea South Korea 1,240 50.6%
2 People's Republic of China China 840 34.4%
3 European Union Europe 140 5.7%
4 Japan Japan 90 3.7%
5 Rest of world 140 5.6%
- Global output total 2,450 100.0%
Please Wiki is not the most reliable or latest source on anything Anybody can write Wiki I guess you need to do more research before posting it here it is embarrasing
Even in the category of High tech ship China is gnawing at Korea lead. Last year China won 5 contract for LNG carrier and already comission 1 LNG carrier. Recently she finished Super large Tanker and super large Cargo ship
China set to become world's largest shipbuilding country16:52, November 10, 2009
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According to Chosun Ilbo, South Korea's shipbuilding industry is suffering from insufficient orders due to the serious financial crisis, and China will replace South Korea as the world's largest shipbuilding country.
China's shipbuilding has overtaken South Korea's in terms of order volume already received and new orders. According to statistical results released by Clarkson, the research institute that analyze the global shipbuilding and maritime transport sector, as of early this month, China's shipbuilding orders reached 54.96 million Compensated Gross Ton (CGT), 34.7% of the world market share, while the South Korean shipbuilding industry holds orders of 53.63 million CGT and only 33.8% of the world's market share. China's market share is 0.9 percentage points higher than South Korea's.
From January to October, China's new orders amounted to 2.71 million CGT, and the market share reaches as high as 52.3%, while new orders in South Korea totals only 1.64 million CGT with 31.8% global market share. This means that China has exceeded South Korea in orders received and new orders and becomes the world's largest shipbuilding country. It is understood that South Korea's shipbuilding industry surpassed Japan in 2000. In the following 10 years, South Korea has been the world's largest ship builder
Industry insiders in South Korea believe that while South Korean shipbuilding orders are shrinking, at the same time, China has won orders for low-cost shipbuilding. Main products of South Korea's shipbuilding are very large oil tankers, liquefied natural gas (LNG) ships and other high value-added ships. Korea Evaluation Institute of Industrial Technology (KEIT) has warned that localization rate of South Korea's core technology of high value-added ships is low. If South Korea does not improve this rapidly, it will be difficult to remain competitive..
China Now The Biggest Shipbuilder On The Planet
November 24, 2009 · Posted in News
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China has now surpassed South Korea as the world’s largest shipbuilder. China has 34.7 percent of the world market. Since 2000, South Korea has had the largest share of the world shipbuilding market after taking the lead from Japan.
China has invested significant resources into expanding its merchant shipbuilding industry, as a way to improve its warship building capability. Three years ago, China produced about a quarter of the world’s merchant ships, while South Korea was in first place, producing about a third. It was then believed that China would take first place in the next 5-10 years.
The big thing holding China back in the warship building area was the shortage of skilled personnel. By encouraging merchant shipbuilding, the government creates experienced ship builders for the more complex task of building warships. In most cases, merchant ships are larger than warships, and much less complex. For example, a common type of merchant ship is the VLCC (Very Large Crude Carrier) of 300,000 deadweight tons (DWT). This is the largest size tanker than can use the Straits of Malacca to carry oil from the Persian Gulf to East Asia. These ships haul two million barrels (about 290,000 tons) of oil per trip. These ships are larger than the biggest American aircraft carriers (like the Nimitz class, that are 110,000 tons displacement, and nearly 1,100 feet long.)
The major difference between merchant vessels and warships is what equipment they have. Merchant ships are quite basic and plain. A 300,000 DWT VLCC is about the same size as a Nimitz class carrier, but costs much less to build ($130 million for the VLCC, versus over $4 billion for the carrier). Actually, it costs more to run a carrier for one year, than the VLCC costs to build. Part of that has to do with crew size, with the carrier having a hundred sailors for everyone needed to run the VLCC.
By building all those merchant vessels, China has acquired the ability to build the basic warship hull. Where it has big problems is in creating the complex electronics, mechanical systems and weapons needed to make a warship work. China is making progress there as well, but not nearly as much as it has in the ship building area.
China grabbed the lead in market share for commercial shipping partly because it became more difficult for South Korean builders to expand. There were more restrictions on land use in South Korea, in addition to higher labour costs. South Korean builders, seeing that they could not match the expansion of Chinese ship yards, expended more effort on building more complex, and expensive, ships. Japan was following a similar path when it lost the lead to South Korea a decade ago. China also gained more market share by offering generous loan terms to foreign buyers of Chinese ships, and cheap loans for their own shipbuilders.