China needs to ramp up its research in advanced marine materials to consolidate its role as a global shipbuilding leader while striving to narrow the technological gap with the US and South Korea, according to an industry leader and adviser to Beijing.
Although China continues to maintain an overall edge in the world’s shipbuilding market, the development of advanced shipbuilding and supporting industries, especially new materials technology, still lags behind developed countries, according to Wang Qihong, director of the China State Shipbuilding Corporation’s 725 Research Institute.
The gap has significantly curtailed China’s shipbuilding prowess and international competitiveness, he has said in interviews with state media, reiterating similar warnings by the corporation’s chief engineer last week.
“China can basically achieve self-sufficiency in general marine engineering equipment and material support for mainstream ships, but there is still a big gap in basic research on advanced materials for high-value ships and in extreme working conditions,” said Wang, who is also a delegate to the National People’s Congress, referring to liquefied natural gas (LNG) carriers, large cruise ships, and polar research vessels.
In particular, South Korea still has a commanding lead in high-value-added orders, such as for LNG carriers.
Last month, a team of researchers from the China Association of the National Shipbuilding Industry found that China was still unable to manufacture five key components for such vessels, which store LNG at extremely low temperatures.
While key materials and technologies are mainly in the hands of developed countries such the United States, Japan, South Korea and in Europe, China still relies on imports.
And Wang noted that problematic issues in the engineering process, such as those concerning corrosion protection, tend to be addressed only when they arise.
Source: The Star
