The Chinese shipbuilding industry has experienced tremendous growth this year. There has been a gradual increase in the number of vessels being built and also in vessel quality. Inevitably, further development is required in shipbuilding steel production technologies.
Up to the end of the first half of 2007, China had received orders for new ships totaling over 42.6 million dwt, indicating a 165 percent year on year increase and accounting for almost 43 percent of the global figure for the period in question. In the third quarter 2007, the country received total new ship orders of 21.72 million dwt. These figures are the highest ever in the history of China's shipbuilding industry and have raised China to the position of second biggest shipbuilding country in the world. Under the booming market conditions, the total profit of China's shipbuilding industry reached RMB 6.5 billion ($855 million) in the first half of the year, up 151 percent year on year.
Adding the new orders received, the total orders in hand exceeded 100 million dwt in the first half of the year, up 100 percent compared to the same period of last year. Furthermore, total completed new ship tonnage neared 7.55 million dwt for the first six months, up 43 percent year on year.
The growth in production quantity and in vessel sizes has led to higher requirements for shipbuilding plates. Currently, the major shipbuilding plate producers in China are Baosteel, Angang, Shougang, Wuhan Steel, Jinan Steel and Shagang. These mills are continuously investing in the development of high grade shipbuilding plates in order to meet the continuously increasing requirements of the shipbuilding industry.
Three main shipbuilding plate properties must be developed in order to meet the increasing requirements.
Firstly, the most commonly produced shipbuilding plate in China is D grade. However, this situation is now changing. With the rapid development of bulk and container ship building, F and Z grade shipbuilding plates need to be produced in order to meet the demand.
Secondly, the demand for low-alloy and high-tension steel must be satisfied. In particular, the currently-used low-tension shipbuilding plates cannot meet the requirements of big vessels. Generally speaking, the bigger the ship is, the thicker the plate should be. However, the thicker plates also entail more difficulties both in terms of welding and ship capacity. The low-alloy steel not only provides higher anticorrosion qualities, but is also a lighter material. The use of low-alloy steel helps reduce the ship's weight and increase the dwt capacity.
Thirdly, bigger size shipbuilding plates are required for larger vessels and these larger size plates may be seen in the near future. It is foreseen that that shipbuilding plates of 4-6 m x 20-25 m sizes will soon gain in popularity. Furthermore, the demand for section steels of big sizes in the shipbuilding industry will accordingly increase.