(Yicai) Jan. 17 -- The Chinese shipbuilding sector ranked first in the world in terms of deadweight tonnage of new vessels, newly-received orders, and orders in hand last year, accounting for over half of the global total in each of them, according to the latest official data.

Chinese companies built ships with a deadweight tonnage of 42.3 million last year, up 12 percent from the previous year and accounting for over 50 percent of the global total, according to data from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.

Chinese shipbuilders received new orders for 71.2 million DWTs worth of vessels in the 12 months ended Dec. 31, an increase of 56 percent from the same period last year and making up nearly 67 percent of the world's total, MIIT data also showed. Their orders in hand reached 139.4 million DWTs last year, up 32 percent from a year earlier, accounting for 55 percent of the global total.

While China's shipbuilding sector has been ranking first worldwide in these three key categories for 14 years in a row, 2023 was the first year it accounted for over 50 percent of the global total in each of them.

Among the 18 major types of vessels, Chinese shipbuilders received the most new orders for 14 of them. The tonnage of the car carrier ships Chinese companies got new orders for accounted for nearly 83 percent of the world's total last year, according to data from the China Association of the National Shipbuilding Industry.

Meanwhile, new orders Chinese firms received for bulk carriers, oil tankers, and container ships accounted for 80 percent, 72 percent, and 48 percent, respectively, of the global total, data from the CANSI also showed.

China's first homegrown large cruise ship, the Adora Magic City, was also completed by Shanghai Waigaoqiao Shipbuilding last year. The vessel completed its maiden voyage on Jan. 1. This shows China’s shipbuilding industry’s versatility.

The profitability of the Chinese shipbuilding sector also increased last year, thanks to a higher ratio of high-value-added projects to the total. In the first 11 months of last year, 74 Chinese shipmakers reported a cumulative profit of CNY16.5 billion (USD2.3 billion), up 141 percent from a year earlier, according to CANSI data. Their total revenue from the main business rose 30 percent at CNY372.4 billion (USD52.2 billion).

Editor: Futura Costaglione