How many shipyards are there in the world?

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How many active shipyards are there in the world? What is the total number of shipyards including new ship construction, ship repair, shipbreaking and recycling yards?

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hi @eren-ya_mur ,
this is actually a good question. i did some research on the internet and came up with this interesting below statistics from Statista. Actually, I expected to be more than one thousand.

The global shipyard landscape has seen significant consolidation over recent years. From 2014 to 2022, the number of active shipyards around the world has nearly halved due to various industry challenges. This reduction is largely attributed to a decrease in demand for new vessels, which in turn is connected to uncertainties related to future fuel composition, propulsion technologies, and stringent environmental regulations. As of April 2022, there are 283 active shipyards that are involved in new ship construction, repair, shipbreaking, and recycling operations worldwide.

For more detailed statistics and to view the source of this information, you can refer to the Statista website here: Active shipyards worldwide - Statista.

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According to Maritime Administration (government agency in the US):
“Currently there are 154 private shipyards in the United States, spread across 29 states and the U.S. Virgin Islands, that are classified as active shipbuilders. In addition, there are more than 300 shipyards engaged in ship repairs or capable of building ships but not actively engaged in shipbuilding.” (https://www.maritime.dot.gov/sites/marad.dot.gov/files/2021-06/Economic%20Contributions%20of%20U.S.%20Shipbuilding%20and%20Repairing%20Industry.pdf)

In addition according to governmental sources, in Turkiye there are 80 active shipyards. (https://tkygm.uab.gov.tr/uploads/pages/kiyi-yapilari-daire-baskanligi/faal-tersaneler.pdf)

In light of this information, if we were to extrapolate I find the global 300 number as an underestimation. Especially considering that major shipbuilding nations like South Korea, China, and Japan have numerous large-scale shipyards. Although difficult to enumerate precisely, I suspect the global number could be much higher.

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