China Continued Shipbuilding Dominance in 2025, Raking In Most Orders

China's naval buildup is subsidized by foreign orders, with warships constructed in the same docks with the same trained workforce (file image courtesy CSSC) — China's rapid naval buildup is subsidized by foreign orders, with warships constructed in the same docks with the same trained workforce (file image courtesy CSSC)

In 2025, China once again dominated the world's shipbuilding orderbooks, according to the latest numbers from Clarksons (compiled by eWorldShip). Out of all orders placed at yards around the world, nearly two-thirds went to Chinese shipbuilders, reflecting the country's powerful market position and the strength of its state backing.

Last year, owners worldwide placed orders for about 2,500 ships. Out of these, more than 1,500 - over 60 percent - went to yards in China. Measured in tonnage, China's share of the new order volume was slightly higher at about 62 percent. (The China Ministry of Industry and Information puts it even higher, at 69 percent, along with 56 percent of all completed deliveries for the year.)

South Korea, the runner-up for new orders, won contracts for 260 vessels, or a bit more than 10 percent of the global total. Japan, long in third place, received 230 orders and a global share of about nine percent.

By shipbuilding conglomerate, CSSC ranked top of the list, as is usual; half of the rest of the top-10 are in China. The others include COSCO, China Merchants, Hengli Heavy Industry and New Times Shipbuilding.

In the defense shipbuilding realm, CSSC also dominated world rankings by a wide margin, supported by the industrial infrastructure and experienced workforce built up by its commercial orderbook. Its yards commissioned one catapult-equipped carrier, one large amphib, at least seven destroyers and six frigates in 2025, plus additional submarine deliveries (unpublished). Its first "drone carrier" catapult-equipped amphib, the Type 076 - the only ship of its type yet built - is now out on sea trials.

China's yards have structural advantages over their peers elsewhere: powerful state support in the form of preferential interest rates and equity ownership; heavily subsidized and abundant domestic supplies of steel; and a skilled labor pool, not yet strained by demographic decline and changing employment preferences, as seen in Korea, Japan and the collective West.

The top-ranked yard in the European market is Fincantieri, the Italian cruise and defense giant, followed by Meyer and Chantiers de l'Atlantique. These are the only three in the top 30 globally; Fincantieri made the top-10 by order value, reflecting the ultra-high value-added content of its segment.