China needs to ramp up its research in advanced marine materials to consolidate its role as a global shipbuilding leader while striving to narrow the technological gap with the US and South Korea, according to an industry leader and adviser to Beijing.
Although China continues to maintain an overall edge in the world’s shipbuilding market, the development of advanced shipbuilding and supporting industries, especially new materials technology, still lags behind developed countries, according to Wang Qihong, director of the China State Shipbuilding Corporation’s 725 Research Institute.
The gap has significantly curtailed China’s shipbuilding prowess and international competitiveness, he has said in interviews with state media, reiterating similar warnings by the corporation’s chief engineer last week.
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“China can basically achieve self-sufficiency in general marine engineering equipment and material support for mainstream ships, but there is still a big gap in basic research on advanced materials for high-value ships and in extreme working conditions,” said Wang, who is also a delegate to the National People’s Congress, referring to liquefied natural gas (LNG) carriers, large cruise ships, and polar research vessels.
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In particular, South Korea still has a commanding lead in high-value-added orders, such as for LNG carriers.
Last month, a team of researchers from the China Association of the National Shipbuilding Industry found that China was still unable to manufacture five key components for such vessels, which store LNG at extremely low temperatures.
While key materials and technologies are mainly in the hands of developed countries such the United States, Japan, South Korea and in Europe, China still relies on imports.
And Wang noted that problematic issues in the engineering process, such as those concerning corrosion protection, tend to be addressed only when they arise.
Or as he put it, “treating the head when the head aches, treating the foot when the foot aches”, rather than curing the underlying cause.
Last year, China solidified its position as a dominant player in the shipbuilding industry by accounting for 50.2 per cent of the world’s completed volume, 66.6 per cent of new orders, and 55 per cent of backlogged orders, pushing the nation’s market share to a historic high.
According to Clarkson Research, a provider of shipping and trade data, China overtook South Korea as the top receiver of global shipbuilding orders in 2021 in terms of annual volumes.
Wang said the lack of basic research, coupled with weak and unstable investments, plus difficulties faced by research institutions, are all detrimental to the steady development of material research.
To address the problems involving fundamental research into ship and marine materials, Wang called for more high-profile demonstrations that would raise public awareness while keeping the “focus on the research and application of new ship and marine materials”.
China’s roughly 3,000 NPC delegates frequently make suggestions, proposals and convey public sentiment to policymakers.
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With China setting out to win the global shipbuilding race, major competitors are similarly stepping up efforts to secure a bigger piece of pie.
Last week, South Korea announced a five-year investment plan to expand its advantage in its pillar shipbuilding industry, valued at 9 trillion Korean won (US$6.75 billion), with three major Korean shipmakers – HD Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering, Samsung Heavy Industries, and Hanwha Ocean – to secure a “superior gap” in the nation’s shipbuilding technologies.
China’s rising dominance in the shipbuilding industry has also riled up its largest rival, the United States.
The US Coast Guard is carrying out its biggest shipbuilding effort since World War II, modernising its polar-class icebreaker fleet.
US Secretary of the Navy Carlos Del Toro also visited Japan and South Korea’s mega-shipyards in recent weeks to strengthen shipbuilding partnerships with American allies.
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