General situation of Chinese shipbuilding plate production

SteelOrbis Shanghai Over recent years, in order to meet the demand of the Chinese shipbuilding industry, China has invested a great deal in shipbuilding plate production lines. The result has been steady growth every year in shipbuilding plate output. In 2005, shipbuilding plate production totaled 4.9337 million mt. The main Chinese producers in the sector are Anshan New Steel, Jinan Steel, Nanjing Steel, Baosteel Shanghai Pudong Steel, Chongqing Steel, Xinyu Steel, Wuyang Steel, Wuhan Steel, and Maanshan Steel. The shipbuilding plate of these companies has been approved by the main shipping classification societies, including CCS, LR, BV, ABS, GL, NK, DNV, KR, and RINA. The production of Anshan New Steel in 2005 amounted to 601,000 mt. Large-scale technical reforms have enabled Anshan's medium plate plant to operate at advanced technological levels in China. With the great improvement in its product quality, the market competitiveness of Anshan's shipbuilding plate has been remarkably strengthened. The production of Jinan Steel totaled 293,800 mt in 2005. It not only supplies the domestic market, but also exports to South Korea, Japan, Europe, South East Asia (Vietnam and Singapore), and India. Indeed, its product quality has reached the advanced levels of the international market. Jinan Steel's shipbuilding plate has received certification approval from 10 countries. It is expected that the shipbuilding production of this mill will reach 0.8~1 million mt in 2006, and will thus account for a 25 percent plus share of the domestic market.