New Pilot Boats for Chinese
On June 16 Zhang Guangqin, Vice Minister of the Commission of Science, Technology, and Industry for National Defence --- a body set up by the Chinese central government to oversee China’s ship building industries --- announced that there would be a 14 percent increase in production from China’s yards in 2004. This would bring the country’s production to 10 million deadweight tons this year, compared with 8.8 million tons in 2004. He went on to say that Chinese yards earned nearly US$3.2 billion on the export of 5.6 million deadweight tons of vessels in 2004. This represents 70% of total construction. The balance of 30% was made of up ships and boats for domestic use. These include everything from crude oil carriers to naval ships and workboats.
China's Shipbuilding Strives for Top Spot
According to reports, China strives to become the world's largest shipbuilder. Last year China maintained its position as the world's third-biggest shipbuilder, a rank it has held for 12 consecutive years, as ship export volume surged 74 percent to $8.11b. Two leading domestic shipbuilders, Dalian Shipbuilding Industry Co Ltd and Shanghai Waigaoqiao Shipbuilding Co Ltd, became world top-10 shipbuilders, joining a list that was before the sole domain of Japanese and South Korean companies. Chinese shipbuilders produced 14.52 million deadweight tons last year, nearly 20 percent of the world's total, compared to only 6 percent of the global market in 2000. Their profitability has also improved.
