China overtakes S Korea as world''s largest shipbuilder: Report

BEIJING: China has surpassed South Korea to become the world''s largest shipbuilder in 2010 in terms of shipbuilding capacity and new orders, media reports here have said.

According to recently released statistics from China''s Ministry of Industry and Information, China''s shipyards finished building 65.6 million DWT (deadweight tons) from January to December last year, an increase of 54.6 per cent year on year.

They received new orders exceeding 75 million deadweight tons, nearly triple the amount of a year earlier.

The great development of the shipbuilding industry in recent years can be mostly attributed to the increased capacity requirements due to economic growth, People''s Daily quoted an expert from the economic research centre of China''s shipbuilding industry as saying.