Who Builds the World's Ships, and Why It Matters
China builds most of the world's new ships, and the United States has just paused its port fees on Chinese-built vessels until 9 November 2026. Is Western shipbuilding going forwards again, or has the industry that carries world trade moved too far backwards to recover?
This video starts inside a yard: steel plate, blocks, grand assembly, launch, outfitting and sea trials. It explains why yards cluster with steel mills, engine makers, suppliers, skilled workers and finance, so a yard cannot easily be moved. Then it follows the lead from Britain's Clyde, Tyne and Belfast to Japan in 1956, Korea in the 1970s to 2000s, and China's state-backed climb after 2000.
It sets out the figures now, from Clarksons Research: China took about 72% of new orders in the first half of 2026 and holds about 65% of the orderbook. Then the American answer: the Section 301 port fees, the one-year suspension, the SHIPS for America Act, Korea's MASGA pledge and Hanwha's Philly Shipyard. It ends with the risks of one country building most of the fleet, and what it takes to rebuild an industry.
Estimates are labelled as estimates and company plans as plans. Photos are public domain or CC0, credited on screen.
Educational documentary. Not financial or investment advice.
In these topics
Tags
Chapters
Sources and credits
Photo credits (Wikimedia Commons)
- Philadelphia Naval Shipyard reserve basin, aerial, 1955: Unknown authorUnknown author, Public domain - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3AAerial_view_of_the_Philadelphia_Naval_Shipyard_Reserve_Basin_on_19_May_1955_%2880-G-668655%29.jpg
- Philadelphia shipyard (Aker/Philly Shipyard) yard view: Tmarinucci (talk) (Uploads), Public domain - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3AAkerAmericanShipping_Yard.jpg
- Hyundai Heavy Industries Ulsan shipyard: Wvdp, CC0 - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3AHyundai_Heavy_Industries_Ulsan_Shipyard_from_Jujeon_Beacon_Mound_-_2023-07-24.jpg
- Jiangnan Shipyard, Changxing Island, Shanghai: Raysonho @ Open Grid Scheduler / Scalable Grid Engine, CC0 - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3AJiangnanShipyardChangxingIsland.jpg
- Jiangnan Shipyard, Shanghai, 1965: 《人民画报》, Public domain - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3A1965-11_1965_%E6%B1%9F%E5%8D%97%E9%80%A0%E8%88%B9%E5%8E%82.jpg
- Mitsubishi Nagasaki shipyard main building: Houjyou-Minori, CC0 - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3AMHI_Nagasaki_Shipyard_Main_Building.jpg
- John Brown West Yard, Clydebank, 1901: Bedford Lemere & Co, Public domain - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3AWest_Yard_at_John_Brown_and_Co_Ltd%2C_Clydebank%2C_1901_RMG_G10548.tiff
- Aquitania before launch, Clydebank, 1914: Bedford Lemere & Co., Public domain - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3AThe_%27Aquitania%27_%281914%29_before_launch_RMG_G10708.tiff
- British shipbuilding in the First World War: Royal Navy official photographer, Public domain - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3AThe_Shipbuilding_Industry_in_Britain_during_the_First_World_War_Q18513.jpg
- Swan Hunter cranes, River Tyne: Martinwguy at English Wikipedia, Public domain - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3ASwan_hunter_cranes_20070319.jpg
Primary sources
- Clarksons Research figures for H1 2026 as reported by Maritime Executive, 8 Jul 2026, and PortNews - China 72% of new orders by CGT (31.00m of 42.95m CGT); orderbook 206.59m CGT, China 134.03m (65%), Korea 38.81m (19%); Korea about two thirds of the LNG carrier orderbook (Wood Mackenzie)..
- USTR, Notice of Modification of Section 301 Action, Federal Register, 13 Nov 2025 (2025-19873) - suspension from 10 Nov 2025 to 9 Nov 2026 (PDF). Fee amounts as summarised by Skuld: $50 per net ton for Chinese operators rising to $140 by 2028; $18 per net ton or $120 per container for Chinese-built ships rising to $33 or $250 by 2028.
- Joint association letter to USTR Jamieson Greer, 23 Sep 2026 (nftc.org) - request to extend the suspension; fees alone are not a strategy for rebuilding US shipbuilding.
- Hanwha, 'Hanwha announces $5 billion Philly Shipyard investment', 27 Aug 2025 - $100m purchase, two docks and three quays, under two vessels a year to up to 20. Stars and Stripes, 21 Jul 2026 - $2bn Missile Defense Agency award, two vessels, first due June 2030.
- Asia Business Daily, 23 Jul 2026, and UPI, 25 Jun 2026 - MASGA: $150bn of a $350bn framework, MOU May 2026, council June 2026, Washington centre 23 Jul 2026.
- Congress.gov and govinfo bill status, S.1541 SHIPS for America Act of 2025 - introduced 30 Apr 2025, referred to committee; first introduced Dec 2024.
- Construction Physics (Brian Potter), 'How the UK Lost Its Shipbuilding Industry', 'How Japan Invented Modern Shipbuilding' and 'How China Became the World's Biggest Shipbuilder' - UK shares and decline dates, Japan 1956, China's plans and estimated subsidies. Secondary source, attributed on screen.
- HD Hyundai Heavy Industries (Wikipedia) - founded 1972, first ship 1974, largest builder 1983. gCaptain, 22 Jan 2011 - China overtakes Korea in 2010.
- worldsteel, 23 Jan 2026 - 960.8 of 1,849.4 Mt crude steel in 2025 (about 52%, calculated).
- Congressional Research Service IF12534, 15 Nov 2023 - US about 0.2% of world tonnage; about 5% in the 1970s; 2-3 yards for large commercial ships.
Not regulated financial advice.