According to the latest data from Clarksons, China is surpassing Greece with an absolute advantage to become the world’s largest shipowning nation, with a lead of nearly 30 million gross tons.
In August last year, China surpassed Greece to become the world’s largest shipowner by gross tonnage. Since then, Chinese shipowners have topped the list in terms of ship acquisitions and are also the main customers of shipyards.
At present, the total tonnage of China’s commercial fleet is 282.9 million, and Greece ranks second with 254 million gross tonnage. In addition, the total order volume of Chinese shipowners is 46.7 million gross tonnage, which is also significantly higher than the 35.4 million gross tonnage of Greek shipowners.
So far this year, Chinese shipowners have purchased a total of 496 used vessels, far exceeding Greece’s 2006 total.
The number of merchant ships owned by China only accounted for 5% of the world’s total. After more than 20 years of development, it now accounts for more than 14% of the world’s total. In the past decade, China’s merchant shipping capacity has more than doubled.
Not only the number of merchant ships, but also China has far surpassed South Korea in the field of shipbuilding, ranking first in the world.
According to Clarkson data, in November this year, the global ship orderbook was 3.87 million CGT (compensated gross tonnages) for 124 ships. Among them, Chinese shipyards received orders for 2.36 million CGT (73 ships), with a market share of 61%. South Korean shipyards received 1.14 million CGT (24 ships), with a market share of 29%.
Expanding to the first 11 months of this year, Chinese shipyards have received cumulative orders of 41.77 million CGT (1,518 ships), with a market share of 69%. Korean shipyards have received cumulative orders of 10.92 million CGT (248 ships), with a market share of only 18%.
As of November, the global order book has decreased by 490,000 CGT compared to the previous month, reaching 152.23 million CGT. China’s order book stands at 86.56 million CGT (57%), and South Korea’s order book is at 37.77 million CGT (25%). Compared to the same period last year, China’s order book has increased by 22.08 million CGT, while South Korea’s has decreased by 1.45 million CGT.
China’s shipbuilding has further widened the gap with South Korea, and the gap between the two countries’ order books is expected to reach an all-time high this year.