Shipbuilding: Adding new weights to old industries

The shipbuilding industry in the old country has shrunk severely, but still using the advantage of standard-setting to dominate the world market text/"Finance and Economics national weekly" in Tokyo Reporter is Liu Hua in Japan, shipbuilding industry as a traditional industry, the lack of attracting investment highlights, in the industrial viability of aviation, aerospace, nuclear power or high-speed railway and other industries.　　From the number of hand-held orders, new ship completion and other data, Japan has fallen to China and South Korea, ranked third in the world.　　In the face of competitive pressure, the Japanese shipbuilding industry to strengthen the low-carbon, energy-saving and environmental protection and other fields of technical input, to new technologies for traditional industries to find growth, maintain a relatively leading position in the world. In recent years, Japanese shipping companies to adapt to different countries on carbon emissions, energy conservation and environmental standards, and even to assist shipbuilding enterprises in related areas to strengthen technical research and development, to improve the relevant standards of ship products. In 2009, the Ministry of Land and Transport of Japan also funded 15 of private ship enterprises in the field of emission reduction research projects.　　Japanese financial institutions and consortia are also more relaxed about technology research and development projects when approving loans.　　Experts remind that Japan in the "Low-carbon", "Environmental protection" and other aspects of the strong investment in the engine and other marine supporting technology in the field of long-term operations, has become its future competition in a place in the precious capital. Song Xiaojun, researcher of China Shipbuilding Industry Institute of Integrated Technology and economics, the international standard of shipbuilding industry is published in name, but in fact more in the hands of old European shipbuilding powers. Despite a severe contraction in the shipbuilding industry, these countries are still taking advantage of the standard-setting advantages to dominate the world market. For example, the main core technology for Marine diesel is currently in the hands of Wärtsilä Corporation and German man company in Finland.　　Although China and South Korea in the shipbuilding market share of large, but marine diesel or direct imports, or by domestic manufacturers to the above-mentioned enterprises to buy patented technology licensing production. At the same time, the concept of "low-carbon" and "Environmental protection" has also become a tool for individual old shipbuilding powers to meet the challenges of emerging countries. The International Maritime Organization and a number of European shipping powers have been issuing new standards for the emissions and environmental protection of civil ships, which actually have a benefit background.　　As long as these countries still have the relevant technical advantages, they can continue to upgrade emissions and environmental protection, such as the "threshold" to improve the country to catch up with the core technology, the effectiveness of the technology blockade. In this issue, the Japanese shipbuilding industry has mastered a certain core technology, basically with the old European powers to stand in close to the starting line. In addition, Japan's efforts to develop the shipbuilding industry low-carbon and environmental technology, on the one hand, because it has always attached importance to the "inertia" of technology research and development, on the other hand, to deal with the growing "environmental barriers" ready.　　These are the basic "weights" to ensure their future participation in international competition. In the field of high value-added ships, Japan also has a great advantage. Because of the high overall industrial level, in the technical and management of more perfect, Japanese shipbuilding industry in the field of high value-added ships have a greater advantage. In the case of LNG vessels (liquefied natural gas vessels), the world can build, and the international market price of 140,000 cubic meters of LNG ships is usually up to $200 million per vessel. Only one or two Chinese shipping companies are able to build such products, while Japanese Kawasaki Heavy Industries and other shipping companies hold a large number of orders for such vessels.　　Similar to this high value-added products will be the future growth of Japanese shipbuilding industry. In the system, Japan is a market-closed shipping power, with a number of companies in the forefront of international shipping industry. For a long time, the Japanese shipping enterprises and shipbuilding enterprises formed a close interest, and even often belong to the same consortium system, such as the Shipping Enterprise "Kawasaki" and Shipbuilding Enterprises "Kawasaki Heavy Industry", shipping enterprises "three well" and shipbuilding enterprises "Mitsui Shipbuilding" and so on.　　The relationship between the shipping enterprise and the shipbuilding enterprise has greatly strengthened both the risk-resisting ability and the international competitiveness. For example, in the international shipping market prosperity, shipbuilding industry order saturation, in short supply, Japanese shipbuilding enterprises can give priority to the domestic shipping enterprises to build ships, to avoid the domestic shipping enterprises into the "money without a boat" embarrassing situation, and in the international shipping market depression, shipbuilding industry, the lack of orders, Japanese shipping companies give priority to handing over orders to domestic shipbuilders to maintain the operations of the shipbuilding industry and to maintain the capacity of shipbuilding in general. According to a Chinese shipping industry market analyst, many of Japan's shipping orders do not take the form of open tendering, but are handed over directly to the shipbuilding industry in the form of internal consultation. This closed operation makes it difficult for foreign enterprises to penetrate the Japanese market.