China’s first home-grown large cruise liner undocks in Shanghai in breakthrough for shipbuilding, high-end manufacturing

“Through the making of this very first large cruise ship, we hope to build a wholesome industrial system and cultivate a cruise culture.”

According to Zheng Yiming, director of the statistics department at the China Association of the National Shipbuilding Industry, the luxury cruise liner’s completion shows that China has the ability to build all types of complex, high-value-added ships, giving it an edge over South Korea, its major competitor in shipbuilding.

But China still needs to improve building efficiency and the quality of supporting facilities, as more ships of its kind – representing the highest level in passenger vessels – are expected to be constructed, he added.

The project was launched in 2015 when one of China’s state-owned shipbuilding conglomerates, now merged into the China State Shipbuilding Corporation, signed a deal with British-American cruise operator Carnival.

The ship, which can accommodate up to 5,246 passengers, will run on international channels that lead to Japan and Southeast Asia.

It will be the world’s first cruise liner that provides access to 5G internet, and it has the largest duty-free shop, the company said last month.

Large cruise ships, most of which have been made by European shipyards, are dubbed one of the “three pearls on the crown of shipbuilding”, with the other two being aircraft carriers and liquefied natural gas vessels.

“They respectively represent the highest levels in ships carrying passengers, military equipment, and cargo. And now we have experience in building them all,” Zheng added.

“It shows improvement not only in our building capability, but also our position in the world’s shipbuilding market, as we have gone further than South Korea and Japan, which have either no experience or lost a lot of money in this regard.”

Compared with other types of vessels, large cruise liners are “great challenges” because they are very demanding technologically, including noise and vibration control, to provide a comfortable, safe and luxurious travel experience for passengers, he said.

There are, though, stricter technical requirements for large vessels, as they travel in international waters and are also bought by European countries, Zheng said.