The World’s Largest Shipbuilding Companies

With global trade still carried overwhelmingly by sea, shipbuilding remains an industry intrinsically linked to global commerce.

Since the dawn of the twenty-first century, shipbuilding companies have raced to expand their reach, creating a handful of giants that together provide an enormous share of maritime trade.

Yet as these carriers pursue economies of scale, they must also navigate port infrastructure limits, regulatory scrutiny and evolving customer demands for lower carbon footprints and end-to-end visibility.

This article looks at the world’s top 20 shipbuilders in 2025, ordered by production capacity, and explains the market forces that elevated them to their high-ranking status.

20. Keppel Offshore & Marine

• Headquarters: Singapore
• Founded: 1968
• Specialism: offshore drilling rigs, oil platforms, offshore wind support vessels

Keppel’s history is one of heavy fabrication, pivoting toward renewables and lifecycle services. 

Where once the yard depended on deepwater rigs and FPSO contracts, the business has spent years retooling slipways, cranes, and project management teams to serve wind‑farm installation, O&M and decommissioning projects across the Asia‑Pacific region. 

With many legacy oil and gas clients are reducing capex, this pivot was both strategic and pragmatic. A growing pipeline of fixed‑and‑floating wind projects requires heavy lifting, jacket construction and bespoke accommodation units.

Commercially, Keppel uses its Singapore headquarters as a logistics and fabrication hub, operating both tropical‑climate yard facilities and regional project management offices. 

The firm's competitive advantage is its integrated offer, enabling clients to consolidate risk with a single supplier, from initial engineering and modular fabrication to towage, installation, and long‑term servicing contracts. 

The move into renewables and decommissioning gives it countercyclical work streams and higher margin potential from engineering services and asset life‑extension programmes.

Keppel provides an excellent example of how legacy yards can be repurposed toward national green objectives if ports and governments invest in exportable infrastructure and workforce retraining.

19. Kawasaki Heavy Industries

• Headquarters: Kobe, Japan
• Founded: 1896
• Specialism: advanced cargo vessels, LNG carriers, integrated propulsion and engineering systems

Kawasaki is a textbook example of a diversified industrial group that treats shipbuilding as part of a broader engineering portfolio.

Rather than compete purely on scale, Kawasaki competes on system integration, from complex propulsion packages, bespoke cargo handling systems, and precision outfitting for gas carriers and sophisticated merchant hulls.

Its capacity to assemble mechanical plants and integrate them with hull construction gives it an edge when customers demand tightly packaged naval or specialist commercial solutions.

Throughout the early 2020s, Kawasaki leaned into modular outfitting and tighter co‑operation with Japanese engine makers to produce vessels that are ‘engine ready’ for alternative fuels. 

Today, Kawaski’s workbooks included a steady flow of LNG‑capable carriers, medium‑sized ro‑ro vessels, and hybrid electric auxiliary system retrofits. 

The company’s conservative risk appetite has made it a preferred partner for owners focused on lifecycle cost and technical certainty rather than headline delivery speed.

Commercially, Kawasaki’s value proposition is a shorter integration path from engine room suppliers to finished vessel systems. Their advantage lies in how seamlessly Kawasaki aligns its industrial siblings to deliver a single, guaranteed performance envelope.

18. Meyer Werft

• Headquarters: Papenburg, Germany
• Founded: 1795
• Specialism: luxury cruise ships, passenger experience engineering, covered-hall construction

In business for over two centuries, Meyer Werft has built a reputation worldwide for the construction of specialised ships. 

The yard’s expertise extended beyond mere volume to include acoustic engineering, hotel‑system optimisation, and advanced shore‑power integration, all designed to reduce consumption and improve comfort. 

Meyer’s projects in the early 2020s pushed LNG propulsion and hybrid hotel electrification, but the yard also leads in bespoke interior modularisation that speeds outfitting without compromising luxury finishes.

Commercially, Meyer sells a low‑risk proposition to cruise lines. The yard’s project teams are split across three areas: sequencing hull readiness, mechanical integration and stage‑level interior work, so that handovers align with delivery windows. This approach minimises rework and reduces late‑stage cost overruns common in large passenger builds. 

For port authorities and terminals, Meyer’s ships come with explicit shore‑power, wastewater handling and gangway interface requirements that must be planned years in advance, making the yard a de facto partner in port development strategies. 

17. Austal

• Headquarters: Henderson, Australia
• Founded: 1988
• Specialism: aluminium high‑speed ferries, patrol boats, offshore wind support vessels

Austal’s modus operandi is in aluminium and speed. The yard’s lightweight construction techniques produce fast ferries and military littoral craft that are fuel‑efficient at high service speeds, and easy to maintain in coastal operations. 

In the 2020s, Austal diversified its orderbook to include service vessels for offshore wind and rapid response craft for coastal security agencies, taking advantage of aluminium fabrication’s lower lifecycle maintenance costs in corrosive near‑shore environments.

Their niche expertise has earned Austal a strong reputation. When owners require shallow‑draft, high‑speed transit or rapid displacement changes, as with passenger ferries or patrol boats, Austal are often the first to the table. 

The yard also developed modular superstructure kits that allow rapid reconfiguration of interiors for different mission profiles, increasing resale and secondary‑market value for operators.

For operators in regions investing in coastal security or near‑shore renewables, Austal offers a compelling, specialised alternative to traditional steel hulls.

16. Huntington Ingalls Industries

• Headquarters: Newport News, United States
• Founded: 2011 (legacy through Northrop Grumman and earlier shipbuilding lines)
• Specialism: aircraft carriers, nuclear submarines, complex naval platforms, long‑term maintenance contracts

Huntington Ingalls is the industrial core of U.S. naval shipbuilding. Its value rests on sovereign capability, including nuclear‑certified facilities, cadre of licensed personnel, and an embedded supply chain that meets the exacting standards of defence procurement. 

The yard’s project cycle is defined by multi‑decadal programmes in alignment with Navy requirements rather than near‑term commercial pressures. HII’s pipeline comprises aircraft carrier work and submarine sustainment refits.

Their operational strengths include a mature configuration‑management system, rigorous Mil‑Spec QA, and in‑house nuclear expertise that is prohibitively hard to replicate elsewhere. 

The company also sustains significant aftermarket capability, including long‑term maintenance, complex mid‑life overhauls, and systems upgrades that keep platforms mission‑ready. 

HII’s credibility is in the depth of institutional knowledge and its documented capacity to comply with classified supply‑chain requirements.

15. General Dynamics NASSCO

• Headquarters: San Diego, United States
• Founded: 1960 (as NASSCO, now part of General Dynamics since 1998)
• Specialism: oil tankers, auxiliary naval vessels, roll-on/roll-off cargo, modular outfitting

When commercial shipbuilding techniques meet military auxiliary requirements, you find NASSCO. 

The yard’s project management model is heavily modular, with large sections of accommodation, machinery rooms and cargo spaces fully outfitted in controlled workshops before being joined to the hull. 

This approach reduces weather exposure during fit‑out, improving QA sign‑off procedures and shortens shipyard berth occupancy, making NASSCO attractive for buyers who prioritise predictable delivery windows.

Throughout the early 2020s, NASSCO expanded its capability set to include hybrid propulsion packages and integrated logistics support that mirror naval expectations for lifecycle management. 

The yard won renewed interest from government customers seeking auxiliaries with lower hotel-plant emissions, while simultaneously serving commercial tanker operators looking for methanol‑ready or LNG‑capable hulls. 

The key strength is NASSCO’s documented experience with Mil‑Spec processes and commercial serial production. 

14. Naval Group

• Headquarters: Paris, France
• Founded: 1631 (modern corporate since 2003)
• Specialism: submarines, surface combatants, nuclear propulsion for submarines, systems integration and export partnerships

Naval Group is Europe’s strategic naval prime contractor and a specialist in complex, low‑signature platforms, working at the intersection of deep acoustic engineering and high‑integrity systems integration.

The company has continued to push improvements in electric drive architectures, signature reduction and combat‑system fusion while also structuring export programmes with industrial co‑operation clauses designed to transfer capability and sustain local maintenance ecosystems.

What differentiates Naval Group is the proportion of its value that comes from integrated systems rather than pure hull construction: combat management, sonar suites, low‑signature hull treatments and propulsion choices. 

For defence planners, Naval Group’s strengths are measured in acoustic stealth, integrated mission systems and the ability to deliver through clustered supply networks under strict security protocols. 

13. Damen Shipyards Group

• Headquarters: Gorinchem, Netherlands
• Founded: 1927
• Specialism: tugs, workboats, ferries, patrol vessels, standardised modular small‑vessel production 

As a global network of medium‑sized yards producing standardised, high‑quality vessels that can be rapidly adapted to local requirements, Damen’s business model is organisationally elegant. 

The repeatable designs, from harbour tugs to wind‑farm service vessels and RoPax ferries, give Damen competitive advantages in cost predictability, spare‑parts rationalisation and fast delivery for municipal and commercial clients. 

In recent years, the group’s product line has matured into a de‑facto catalogue for cities and regional operators seeking electrification and quieter harbour operations.

Strategically, Damen invests in lifecycle services and digital fleet management tools that extend revenue beyond the point of sale. Its “Damen Connect” initiative bundles telematics, predictive maintenance and remote diagnostics, turning single‑vessel sales into multi‑year service relationships. 

The yard’s approach also means mid‑life upgrades are straightforward. Battery packages, shore‑power interfaces and low‑emission auxiliary systems can be integrated without extensive structural modification.

The yard’s responsiveness to electrification requirements in 2023–25 positioned it as a go‑to supplier for green harbour projects in Northern Europe and parts of Asia, where port authorities value proven warranty chains and rapid commissioning teams.

12. Oshima Shipbuilding

• Headquarters: Saikai, Japan
• Founded: 1973
• Specialism: Handymax and Supramax bulk carriers, efficient cargo handling, longevity focused hulls

Oshima’s reputation with dry bulk owners is built on disciplined engineering and a conservative, lifecycle‑focused product philosophy. 

Unlike yards that compete on headline unit price, Oshima competes on predictable fuel consumption, durable steel work and cargo handling efficiencies that reduce port time and cargo claims. 

The yard’s designs typically feature practical cargo hatch arrangements, robust ballast and bilge systems, and modest but reliable automation that minimises maintenance complexity in remote trades.

Oshima has continued to update its fleet portfolio with incremental hull‑form refinements, energy‑saving appendages and optional hybrid auxiliary packages aimed at reducing idle‑running fuel. 

The yard’s client base values long service intervals and predictable repair cycles, and as a result, Oshima ships frequently command higher second‑hand valuations in conservative bulk trades. 

11. Cosco Shipyard Group

• Headquarters: Shanghai, China
• Founded: 1990
• Specialism: oil tankers, bulk carriers, merchant fleet construction, integrated ordering with shipping group

Cosco Shipyard Group operates within an industrial ecosystem that effectively guarantees a baseline of internal demand. 

This structural advantage helps the yard maintain high utilisation rates and invest in process improvements that lower steel‑to‑water cycle times for commoditised vessel types such as bulk carriers and tankers.

Cosco has continued to prioritise cost efficiency, supply‑chain integration and shortened delivery windows, all attractive propositions for owners operating on lean margins in dry bulk and tanker markets.

The yard’s advantage stems from vertical co‑ordination. Close ties with shipping operators allow for just‑in‑time steel procurement, standardised hull classes and predictable retrofit pathways. 

Cosco’s 2020s product mix increasingly included methanol‑ready designs and simplified retrofit interfaces to support later conversion to alternative fuels, recognising that many shipowners prefer staged capex to single, large investments.

10. Jiangnan Shipyard

• Headquarters: Shanghai, China
• Founded: 1865 (modern corporate form in late 20th century)
• Specialism: LNG carriers, naval vessels, automated block production, advanced commercial hulls

Jiangnan’s history is one of industrial scale meeting incremental automation. 

The yard has invested heavily in large gantry cranes, automated cutting and welding lines and a block‑production model that reduces the labour intensity of erecting very large hulls. By 2025 Jiangnan has become one of China’s go‑to yards for LNG carrier construction, combining volume manufacturing with continuous improvement in build accuracy and outfitting speed.

The yard’s strategic approach in recent years emphasised capability‑dense projects, from LNG carriers with complex cryogenic containment systems, to naval hulls that require higher tolerances and heavy offshore units. 

Jiangnan’s investments in vertical integration, from steel processing to outfitting workshops, have shortened lead times and allowed tighter quality control, both vital in gas carrier builds where regulatory and safety standards are exacting.

9. STX Offshore & Shipbuilding

• Headquarters: Changwon, South Korea
• Founded: 2001
• Specialism: offshore fabrication, cargo vessels; mid‑sized commercial ships, heavy‑structure assemblies

STX has historically occupied a middle ground in the South Korean yard landscape, not always the headline‑grabbing mega‑yard, but a reliable supplier for heavy structures and mid‑sized hulls. 

The yard’s project mix in the early 2020s mixed offshore oil‑and‑gas platform modules with conventional merchant ships, leveraging heavy‑lift experience to transition into the offshore renewables supply chain.

STX’s strategic edge came from its engineering depth and capacity to deliver large blocks and heavy components that feed into larger assembly projects elsewhere. The yard’s experience with dynamic positioning equipment and complex structural welding has made it a competitive builder for installation vessels and service platforms where robustness and lifting capability matter more than the absolute scale of the hull.

Where STX excels is in projects that combine heavy fabrication with a requirement for fast, well‑managed delivery windows.

8. Fincantieri

• Headquarters: Trieste, Italy
• Founded: 1959
• Specialism: cruise ships, naval vessels, complex outfitting, turnkey luxury projects

When a ship needs to balance engineering complexity with high‑end hospitality, Fincantieri is Europe’s default partner. 

The yard’s portfolio spans large cruise liners with elaborate public spaces, naval platforms with advanced systems and bespoke commercial projects providing a quality passenger experience. Fincantieri’s method combines strong project management, refined industrial ergonomics and a supply chain capable of delivering complex interior systems to tight tolerances.

Fincantieri has sharpened its environmental credentials, integrating dual‑fuel engines, advanced waste‑heat recovery and aggressive hotel electrification to reduce hotel‑plant consumption. The yard’s advantage stems from its ability to orchestrate hundreds of specialist suppliers and interior subcontractors without losing control of schedule or quality. 

Procurement teams prize Fincantieri’s demonstrated ability to deliver both the public‑space spectacle and the technical systems that keep those spaces operating reliably.

7. Mitsubishi Heavy Industries

• Headquarters: Tokyo, Japan
• Founded: 1884
• Specialism: naval platforms, cruise and passenger vessels, integrated propulsion and machinery systems

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries’ (MHI) shipbuilding arm benefits from the group’s cross‑sector engineering depth. The ability to source turbines, gearboxes, control systems and electric propulsion components from internal supply chains creates performance synergies that are difficult for smaller yards to match. 

MHI’s focus is not on sheer volume, but on delivering integrated systems where propulsion, power management and hotel systems are engineered to work as a single, optimised unit.

In the mid‑2020s, MHI increased work on hybrid electric auxiliaries and modular propulsion spaces designed to accept future fuel modules. 

For navies, this capability simplifies mid‑life modernisation because the yard’s integrated design philosophy anticipates threads such as electrical load growth, sensor integration and power resilience. 

For cruise and passenger operators, MHI brings the promise of quieter hotel systems, superior vibration control, and lower lifecycle maintenance through better component matching and factory testing regimes.

6. Imabari Shipbuilding

• Headquarters: Imabari, Japan
• Founded: 1901
• Specialism: container vessels, bulk carriers, efficient production lines, partnerships for green fuels

Imabari is Japan’s largest private commercial yard and a leading name for pragmatic, quality‑centred shipbuilding, offering container and bulk classes that balance fuel efficiency with robust maintenance regimes.

 Imabari’s strategic emphasis in the 2020s was close collaborative programmes with engine manufacturers, and fuel‑supply developers to produce ammonia‑ready and ammonia‑capable designs that minimise owner retrofit pain.

What sets Imabari apart is its manufacturing discipline and conservative engineering culture. The yard prefers evolutionary design changes that improve fuel burn and compliance rather than radical untested technologies. 

For many shipowners, that risk profile is attractive. Imabari delivers reliable ships on schedule, with retrofit interfaces deliberately designed into engine rooms and deck arrangements to simplify future conversions.

Imabari’s steady, reliability‑first approach often yields better operational predictability and lower unplanned repair rates.

5. China Shipbuilding Industry Corporation

• Headquarters: Liaoning, Jiangsu, Shanghai, China
• Founded: legacy origins through 1950s. Corporate forms merged into CSSC in 2019
• Specialism: submarines and surface combatants, tankers, container vessels, offshore platforms, specialised naval fabrication

China Shipbuilding Industry Corporation (CSIC) is best understood through its legacy facilities and technical lineage rather than as an independent corporate brand.

Prior to its consolidation into CSSC, CSIC encompassed yards with strong defence and specialised commercial capabilities. Those legacy competencies now persist within the integrated CSSC structure, preserving regional centres of excellence where qualified personnel and specialised tooling remain concentrated.

The former CSIC yards retain strengths in precision engineering and systems integration for both military and complex commercial projects. These sites have historically handled higher‑tolerance welding, composite shaftline installations, and bespoke outfitting that larger, high‑throughput yards find harder to accommodate. 

In the post‑merger era the facilities have been modified for efficiency, but their technical roles remain critical for submarine programmes, sophisticated patrol vessels, and certain classes of LNG or chemical carriers that demand tighter regulatory compliance.

The CSIC legacy facilities function as the corporate group’s answer to projects that require a combination of naval precision and commercial discipline, and are often the go‑to yards when a build requires special certification, onerous acoustic standards or close co‑operation with state research institutes. 

4. China State Shipbuilding Corporation

• Headquarters: Beijing, China
• Founded: 1999
• Specialism: bulk carriers, container ships, naval platforms, offshore vessels, modular block fabrication

China State Shipbuilding Corporation (CSSC)  is the industrial giant at the heart of China’s state‑led maritime strategy. 

CSSC is not a single yard but a national network of shipyards, research institutes and heavy fabrication facilities that together supply the bulk of China’s large commercial and naval tonnage. 

The corporation’s scale is its defining commercial virtue. Shared procurement of steel and major equipment, standardised hull classes across multiple yards, and the ability to mobilise capacity to meet large orderbook swings give CSSC strong cost and delivery levers in commoditised markets.

Operationally, CSSC combines high‑volume production lines for bulk carriers and tankers with pockets of advanced capability for warships, ice‑class vessels and complex offshore units. The group has invested in automated block‑assembly lines, NDT regimes and digital verification systems to raise first‑pass quality, while research arms focus on green hull forms and fuel‑agnostic machinery spaces. 

CSSC’s commercial tactic includes aggressive pricing in commoditised segments, vertical integration with domestic engine and component suppliers, and strategically timed investments in LNG‑capable and methanol‑ready designs to capture owners seeking staged decarbonisation pathways.

On the defence side, CSSC is central to China’s naval modernisation, producing surface combatants and support vessels in facilities that combine shipyard serialisation with classified systems integration. 

Export programmes typically match platform sales with supply‑chain packages and long‑term spares arrangements, reducing total‑cost‑of‑ownership for buyers but increasing overseas buyers’ dependence on CSSC’s supplier network.

The key practical checks are the yard’s documented QA procedures for gas‑carrier containment, lead‑time commitments on commoditised hull classes, and the clarity of retrofit interfaces for future fuel conversions.

3. Hanwha Ocean

• Headquarters: Geoje, South Korea
• Founded: 1973 (as Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering)
• Specialism: naval ships, LNG carriers, offshore platforms, smart ship systems and automation

Formerly Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering DSME, Hanwha Ocean is now one of the world’s largest shipbuilding companies. Their transformation into a Hanwha‑group capability reshaped both balance sheet and strategic intent. 

The yard retained DSME’s deep heritage in very large hulls and sophisticated naval platforms while gaining access to Hanwha’s defence, aerospace and advanced‑manufacturing businesses. 

That combination has produced two clear advantages. First, a stronger integration of defence electronics, sensors, and lifecycle support into naval bids. Second, accelerated adoption of automation and smart‑yard practices derived from Hanwha’s industrial engineering experience.

Operationally, Hanwha Ocean excels at heavy fabrication and complex outfitting. The Geoje facilities remain optimised for large LNG carriers and FPSOs, and the yard’s engineering teams have expanded capability in ammonia‑readiness and fuel‑agnostic engine spaces. 

On the naval side, Hanwha Ocean uses group ties to offer integrated sustainment packages, training, and munitions handling solutions that smaller yards cannot easily replicate. 

The yard has emphasised full‑life solutions, including design, build, in‑service support and intergovernmental industrial co‑operation, selling sovereign assurance as much as steel.

The practical value is twofold: reliable execution on large commercial hulls and an end‑to‑end sustainment offer that reduces the logistical friction of long deployments.

2. Samsung Heavy Industries

• Headquarters: Geoje, South Korea
• Founded: 1974
• Specialism: offshore platforms, LNG carriers, cruise and installation vessels, heavy‑lift and wind‑installation ships

Samsung Heavy Industries (SHI) is the other South Korean powerhouse whose combination of heavy‑lift experience and sophisticated merchant shipbuilding secures top spot. 

SHI’s historical strength in offshore oil‑and‑gas platforms helped it translation into the offshore‑renewables era. Engineering competence in jacket and topside fabrication, dynamic positioning integration and heavy‑lift logistics made the yard a preferred partner for advanced turbine installation vessels and floating wind platforms. 

Simultaneously, SHI continued to produce large LNG carriers and cruise hulls where precision block fabrication and complex outfitting are critical.

The yard’s main competitive advantage is the combination of heavy civil‑engineering scale with marine systems integration. SHI invested in very large gantries, automated block lines and advanced NDT regimes that shorten production cycles and improve first‑pass quality on complex assemblies.

SHI’s orderbook now includes multiple wind‑installation vessels and next‑generation LNG carriers that featured modular fuel‑system architecture and expanded battery capacity for hotel loads and peak shaving.

SHI’s value lies in delivering technically demanding vessels on large programmes while maintaining rigorous QA and heavy‑lift credentials. Their capacity to blend offshore engineering with merchant shipbuilding makes it the pragmatic first choice for sizeable, technically ambitious marine projects.

1. Hyundai Heavy Industries 

• Headquarters: Ulsan, South Korea
• Founded: 1972
• Specialism: LNG carriers, supertankers, ultra‑large container ships, heavy automation and modular block construction

As of 2025, Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) remains the commercial heavyweight of global shipbuilding. 

The Ulsan complex is effectively a thoroughly integrated industrial field, including multiple slipways, outfitting berths, steel processing and offshore fabrication lines that together can move large numbers of very large hulls through the pipeline. 

HHI’s competitive advantage is a blend of scale with technical sophistication. Factory‑style modular construction, AI‑driven production scheduling and a growing portfolio of alternative‑fuel designs that are either LNG‑capable or ammonia‑ready.

HHI’s strategy in the mid‑2020s focused on future‑proofing. Engine rooms and fuel‑supply arrangements designed for staged fuel transitions, large battery banks for hotel and manoeuvring peaks, and integrated digital twin capability to shorten sea trials and speed acceptance. 

The yard’s 2025 ammonia‑powered supertanker launch was notable because it demonstrated not just prototype engineering, but also the capacity to build at scale while adopting a new fuel chemistry across structural, safety and handling systems. 

Commercial shipowners value HHI for predictable delivery slots, broad supplier relationships and the ability to accommodate large bespoke orders, yet they must balance those benefits against the operational complexity of very large vessels and the port infrastructure they require.

HHI’s risk profile is industrial rather than technological. Its problems are solved through throughput and supplier management, not rapid product pivoting.

Across their 50-year history, HHI has built a business that is ready for the myriad changes of the uncertain future, to create a business that shows no signs of being usurped. 

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