In this article, we are going to take a look at the 15 biggest shipbuilding companies in the world.
Ships are one of the integral components of the global transportation industry. As the population grows and living conditions improve, there will be more demand for goods, which is expected to drive the demand for goods transportation by sea. Moreover, the tourism industry is also driving demand for cruise ships and ferries. For example, mega oil tankers are responsible for maintaining a supply chain that allows millions of barrels of oil to be shipped around the globe every day. These firms can benefit from stable demand and generate profits, which makes them good investment opportunities. There are, many oil tanker stocks that pay dividends, such as Genco Shipping & Trading Limited (NYSE:GNK). Genco’s forward annual dividend yield is 3.83%, much higher than tech giant Google’s parent Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL).
Fueling these large industrial bases is the global shipbuilding industry, which according to research reports can grow to be worth as much as $220 billion by 2023 end and $279 billion in 2028. Most shipbuilding companies are concentrated in a few advanced industrial nations. Out of the top 15 shipbuilding countries in the world, Japan, Korea, and China accounted for 94.2% of global ship output as of 2021. The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development’s (UNCTAD) data for 2023 shows that Asia maintained its global edge, accounting for 95% of global ship production.
When looking at the top shipbuilding countries, the geographical concentration allows us to identify the biggest shipbuilding companies in the world. Since building ships requires large amounts of capital expenditures, some of the largest shipbuilding firms are subsidiaries of other companies. However, some companies are also independent and publicly-traded, such as the South Korean Hanwha Ocean Co., Ltd. (KRX:042660.KS). Hanwha Ocean is worth more than $7 billion, and the stock is up 40.6% over the past 12 months and 27.5% year-to-date. The firm is currently eyeing expansion in the lucrative Pacific shipbuilding market that has seen fresh interest after U.S. military partnerships under the AUKUS program (a trilateral partnership between the US, Australia, and South Korea) sought to grow capabilities aimed at countering the Chinese.
Another beneficiary of this partnership is the Australian defense and shipbuilding firm Austal Limited (ASX:ASB.AX). Austal is one of Australia’s largest shipbuilding companies and it raked in A$1.5 billion ($1.0 billion) in revenue during its last fiscal year. It is a key US and Australian partner for the AUKUS program and has received multiple contracts from Australian and US navies for patrol boats and landing craft. An Australian contract in November 2023 ordered two patrol boats for A$157 million ($104 million) and later its US division kicked off work on building patrol boats for the US Navy under a $91.5 million contract. Moreover, Austal had a takeover offer from Hanwha, which it rejected, but which also boosted the stock by 14%.
As a whole, the global shipbuilding industry is divided into categories such as oil tankers, defense products, and cargo vessels. Within these, the container ship industry has faced a lot of criticism due to its contribution to global emissions. These ships account for 3% of all of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions, and the heat that the industry has faced due to the emissions has also led to interesting shipbuilding solutions. For example, Schooner Apollonia is a ship that relies on wind to remove trucks and polluting fuel out of the equation for some beer shipments between Kingston and New York City. On the commercial side, the International Maritime Organization (IMO) shared in January that “30 large commercial vessels in operation with WPT [wind-assisted propulsion technologies] installed, a further eight wind-ready ships and 16 more large vessels installations pending” were responsible for 2.2 million dead weight tons (dwt) of shipping capacity.
Finally, a smaller piece of the global shipbuilding industry is the cruise ship sector. The global cruise industry is estimated by some to grow to $15 billion by 2028 end, and after the coronavirus pandemic, analysts also believe that cruise companies might continue to benefit from strong demand.
With these details in mind, let’s take a look at the 15 biggest shipbuilding companies in the world.
Our Methodology
For our list of the biggest shipbuilding companies in the world, we first scanned media coverage for shipbuilding companies that earn the most revenue. Then, they were ranked by their latest available revenue figures and the top results are as follows. While revenue details for most firms part of our initial list were easily available, notable firms who might make the cut but couldn’t because of a lack of information are Bollinger Shipyards and Imabari Shipbuilding.
15 Biggest Shipbuilding Companies in the World
15. CSBC Corporation (TPE:2208.TW)
Latest 12 Month Revenue: $650 million
CSBC Corporation (TPE:2208.TW) is a Taiwanese firm headquartered in Kaohsiung, Taiwan. Its products include a variety of ships such as container ships, oil tankers, and drilling platforms. The firm is one of Taiwan’s most important ship builders, and it made its mark in February 2024 after starting sea acceptance tests for the country’s first submarine.
14. Austal Limited (ASX:ASB.AX)
Latest 12 Month Revenue: $990 million
Austal Limited (ASX:ASB.AX) is an Australian maritime products firm. It manufactures ferries, patrol boats, and other items for civil and defense use cases. May 2024 started with a crucial development about its potential acquisition by Korean shipbuilding firm Hanwha after Australian Defense Minister Richard Marles cited confidence in his government’s ability to safeguard sensitive information if a potential deal went through.
13. Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. (TYO:7011.T)
Latest 12 Month Revenue: $2.64 billion
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. (TYO:7011.T) is the well known Japanese industrial conglomerate. It operates in the shipbuilding industry through its Plants & Infrastructure and Aircraft, Defense & Space segments. Since there are no specific revenue estimates available for Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. (TYO:7011.T)’s shipbuilding division, we estimated the revenue during 2023 by sifting through its 2023 annual report and other associated documents. According to the charts in these documents, roughly 20% of Plants & Infrastructure and 40% of Aircraft and Defense revenue is from shipbuilding activities.
12. Damen Shipyards
Latest 12 Month Revenue (End 2023): $3.3 billion
Damen Shipyards is a Dutch shipbuilding company. It is the first privately held shipbuilder on our list of the world’s biggest shipbuilding companies. As a result, revenue figures are available only for 2023 end. The firm operates 35 shipyards, and it has a global presence through 55 companies.
11. Hanwha Ocean Co., Ltd. (KRX:042660.KS)
Latest 12 Month Revenue (End 2023): $3.5 billion
Hanwha Ocean Co., Ltd. (KRX:042660.KS) is one of the three major shipbuilding companies in South Korea. It is the rebranded version of Daewoo Heavy Industries – a firm that has played a crucial role in Korean history. The firm is currently embroiled in a heavy stakes PR battle in Korea, as shipbuilding rival HD Hyundai has accused Hanwha Ocean Co., Ltd. (KRX:042660.KS) of defaming HD Hyundai employees by naming them in a corporate espionage lawsuit.
10. JSC United Shipbuilding Corporation
Latest 12 Month Revenue (End 2023): $4.32 billion
JSC United Shipbuilding Corporation is a Russian shipbuilder that has been at the center of US sanctions since the Russian invasion of Ukraine because of its ties to the Russian government and military. It’s the only shipbuilding company on our list whose revenue details are not easily available. The only estimate we could find came from OUCO Industry.
9. Samsung Heavy Industries Co., Ltd. (KRX:010140.KS)
Latest 12 Month Revenue: $5.87 billion
Samsung Heavy Industries Co., Ltd. (KRX:010140.KS) is the second major Korean shipbuilding firm on our list. It manufactures oil tanks, floating rigs, and other ships. It is currently embroiled in a costly legal battle with the Korea Gas Corp over faulty LNG shipping vessels it sold to another Korean company, SK Shipping. Samsung Heavy Industries Co., Ltd. (KRX:010140.KS) was ordered to pay $230 million to SK by a London court in December 2024, and it sued Korea Gas in April 2024 and claimed that the defects were Korea Gas’s fault instead.
8. BAE Systems plc (LON:BA.L)
Latest 12 Month Revenue: $6.87 billion
BAE Systems plc (LON:BA.L) is one of the largest British defense contractors. The $6.87 billion 12-month revenue figure is for the firm’s Maritime division. This maritime division makes and sells military ships such as aircraft carriers, frigates, and patrol vessels.
7. Fincantieri S.p.A. (BIT:FCT.MI)
Latest 12 Month Revenue: $7.5 billion
Fincantieri S.p.A. (BIT:FCT.MI) is a major European ship building company. It has dozens of shipyards in dozens of shipyards spread all over the world in countries like the US, Italy, and Denmark. The firm has been making big moves in 2024, as after signing a $1.3 billion deal with Indonesia in April 2024, it announced a deal to build a 120 meter long energy construction vessel for a Norwegian firm.
6. HD Hyundai Heavy Industries Co.,Ltd. (KRX:329180.KS)
Latest 12 Month Revenue: $8.76 billion
HD Hyundai Heavy Industries Co.,Ltd. (KRX:329180.KS) is a major Korean shipbuilding company. It scored a massive deal in May 2024 which underscores the size of the global shipbuilding industry. This came in the form of a cool $532 million contract for an African owner to make two LNG tankers.