European Countries Are Raining Orders To Chinese Shipyards To Avoid Gas Trouble

Chinese shipyards, which make up nearly 50 percent of the world market, are working non-stop for natural gas tanker delivery. The demand explosion from Europe, which is in a hurry to increase its natural gas stocks, has accelerated the construction activities of these tankers carrying liquefied natural gas.

The number of new tankers ordered to China has now reached double-digit growth, as damage to the Nord Stream pipeline and the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine have made gas supplies to Europe problematic. So much so that the orders received by some Chinese shipyards have reached the level that the shipyards will operate continuously until 2026. For example, a Shanghai-based shipyard is not in a position to accept another order until 18, although it is currently working on 100 tankers at 24 percent capacity 2026 hours a day.

Liquid gas tanker construction is a type of production that requires a high standard of skill, advanced production lines and complete and stable supply chains. China, which has become a global center in this field, has many independently developed construction technologies. Europe is the third largest consumer of such tankers; heavily dependent on pipelines and gas tankers for imports.

Hudong-Zhonghua Shipbuilding group, a shipbuilding company affiliated with China State Shipbuilding Corporation (CSSC), works around the clock to build giant gas tankers. The company's executives, emphasizing the intensity of new orders, say that six tankers are produced at the same time at the shipyards. The number of orders the company received this month alone has increased to 24.

Meanwhile, the Hudong-Zhonghua Shipbuilding group is working on 33 high-capacity tankers, of which 26 were ordered this year. In this context, it is possible to count the Jiangnan Shipyard group. In summary, European and Asian countries are the main markets for Chinese manufacturers of high-standard tankers.

As a matter of fact, in the first eight months of this year, the production of China's shipbuilding industry reached a volume of 23,94 million tons. This corresponds to 45,4 percent of the global market total. This data places China in the first place in the world. Moreover, with the new orders, China gets a 50,6% share of the global market.

Another aspect of the business is the astronomical amounts, from which the daily wages of the natural gas tankers still operating. While the average daily price of a 174 thousand cubic meter tanker in the Atlantic region was 74 thousand dollars at the beginning of August, it has now increased to 397 thousand dollars.