Shipbuilders may shift focus to cruise market

Chinese shipbuilders are becoming more interested in the cruise liner market, as cruise shipbuilding accounted for 43 percent of global new shipbuilding orders last year, sources said.

Fu Chunhong, vice-chairman of the Chinese organizing committee of Marintec China, said: "In addition to China State Shipbuilding Corp, quite a few other Chinese shipbuilders such as China Shipbuilding Industry Corporation and China Merchants Heavy Industry, are proactive in cruise liner building."

China's first domestically manufactured cruise liner will be delivered in 2023, followed by a delivery rate of one vessel per year between 2024 and 2028. The cruise liners will be constructed at Waigaoqiao Shipbuilding Co Ltd, a company controlled by CSSC.