China’s shipyards still lead the world, but US threats took a toll in 2025

China retained its position as the world’s top shipbuilder in 2025, but its market share declined for the first time in five years as US threats to impose port fees on Chinese-linked vessels sparked market turbulence.\nChinese shipyards secured 35.4 million compensated gross tonnage (CGT) of new vessel orders last year, down 35 per cent compared with 2024, the Chinese maritime news outlet eworldship.com reported on Thursday, citing data from shipping consultancy Clarksons.\nChina’s shipbuilders also saw their global market share fall from 70 per cent in 2024 to 63 per cent last year – the first such drop recorded in half a decade, the report said.\nSouth Korea, the world’s second-largest shipbuilder, gained ground as its market share rose from 17 per cent in 2024 to 21 per cent last year, with its new vessel orders growing 8 per cent year on year to reach 11.6 million CGT.\nBut the industry’s third-biggest player, Japan, saw new vessel orders plummet by nearly 53 per cent year on year to 2.8 million CGT in 2025, giving it a global market share of about 5 per cent.\nThe shipbuilding industry was thrown into disarray in early 2025 when Washington unveiled a plan to impose port fees targeting vessels owned, operated or built in China. The move prompted Beijing to respond with its own countermeasures later in the year.\nThough both sides agreed to suspend their duties for one year after crunch talks in late October, the uncertainty has sparked anxiety in the shipping sector, which was reflected in ordering decisions: global new vessel orders fell 27 per cent year on year to 56.4 million CGT.\n\n\nClarksons pointed to the US restrictions as a major factor behind the decline in business at China’s shipyards, noting that Chinese firms faced “unprecedented challenges from non-market factors” in 2025.\nChina continued to dominate orders of bulk carriers and container ships, and secured more oil tanker contracts than South Korea, while South Korean shipbuilders led in gas tanker orders, the report said.\nSouth Korea’s shipyards are now focusing on liquefied natural gas carriers and naval vessels to sustain profitability, Korea JoongAng Daily reported on Thursday.\nLast summer, the US and South Korea agreed a US$150 billion shipbuilding partnership that will see South Korean firms help revive American shipyards and provide maintenance services for US naval vessels – a deal that Seoul proposed under the tagline “Make American Shipbuilding Great Again”.\nFaced with intensifying competition from China and South Korea, Japan is taking steps to bolster its industry, including merging its two largest shipbuilders.\nThe nation’s market leader, Imabari Shipbuilding, has now completed its acquisition of second-ranked peer Japan Marine United, Nikkei reported on Wednesday. Imabari said the merger would help it accelerate the construction of vessels powered by alternative fuels, such as LNG.\n