Shanghai exported 40.09 billion yuan ($5.97 billion) worth of ships in the first seven months of 2026, up 64.1 percent year-on-year, according to Shanghai Customs.

High-end vessels, including liquid cargo ships and large container ships, made up 83.9 percent of total ship exports.

Shanghai is a major shipbuilding hub with a complete industrial chain covering design, construction, key components and supply services. Major shipbuilders are running at full capacity, with some orders scheduled through 2030.

In Pudong New Area, efforts are being made to improve the efficiency of building ultra-large vessels. On June 9, Hudong-Zhonghua Shipbuilding (Group) Co Ltd started construction on a QC-Max ultra-large LNG carrier. It is the world's largest membrane-type LNG carrier by tank capacity to have completed certification by an authoritative classification society.

Pudong Customs has supported the project by improving the registration and circulation of bonded materials. By the end of July, 126 bonded material items had been registered.

The shipbuilder has also adopted digital technologies for virtual pre-construction and simulation, helping identify potential problems before production. The company said the approach has cut on-site rework by 40 percent and raised the coverage of early-stage risk checks to 98 percent.