From the magazine – SEA Europe, the umbrella organisation representing the European shipbuilding industry, describes it as nothing less than a historic breakthrough and the start of a new chapter in the history of European shipbuilding. The somewhat more down-to-earth Dutch organisation Maritime & Offshore NL sees the publication of what is officially known as the European Industrial Maritime Strategy as ‘a strong foundation for a competitive and future-proof maritime sector’ and ‘an important step towards a stronger European maritime cluster’. Praise, then, for what is undoubtedly an important European policy plan, but what it will actually deliver is difficult to predict.
In every issue of SWZ|Maritime, SWZ|Maritime’s editor Antoon Oosting writes an opinion piece under the heading “Markets” about the maritime industry or a particular sector within it. In the April 2026 issue, he discusses the new EU maritime industrial strategy and what it could mean for the industry. Much is still unclear, however. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of the publisher (the SWZ Foundation), the KNVTS, or other editors.
The EU Industrial Maritime and Ports Strategies published on 4 March sees the light at a moment when European shipbuilding is in an almost dramatic situation. In March, China secured no less than 53 per cent (measured in tonnage) of all global shipbuilding orders. South Korea, in second place, secured 39 per cent. And apart from the short-sea builders Ferus Smit, Royal Bodewes Group and Royal T-Shipyards in the Netherlands and the builders of large cruise ships in Germany, France and Italy, hardly any merchant ships are being built in Europe anymore. In addition to the bulk of orders going to China and Korea, many European orders are heading to emerging countries such as India and Turkey.
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Maritime power
So has Europe completely lost its status as a maritime power? Not quite: four of the five largest container shipping companies are still European, and the Greeks remain the undisputed masters of the tanker and bulk carrier sectors. However, we have become heavily reliant on Asia for shipbuilding.
Moreover, major European ship designers are increasingly falling into Asian hands. Europe’s largest design firm, Finnish Deltamarin, is already largely in Chinese hands, and with that, the construction of ferries has also largely shifted to China. Closer to home: Conoship recently sold 23 per cent of its shares to the Indian company Cochin Shipyard Limited.
The illustration accompanying the press release of 4 March by Maritime & Offshore NL is telling in that respect. It concerns a photo of the Brouwersgracht, a ship delivered in 2023 of the newest Spliethoff class of heavy-lift vessels, for the time being consisting of two units, measuring 12,500 tonnes deadweight, with two 500 MT cranes from Huisman. The Brouwersgracht and sister ship Bloemgracht were largely designed in-house by Spliethoff with the help of the Groningen-based naval architecture firm Conoship.
Frequently copied
However, they were built by the Fuzhou Mawei Shipyard, meaning the Chinese have once again been gifted a wealth of knowledge. Just look at many other Chinese vessels, such as the Magdalena Green series of five general-cargo ships from Gen-Chart in Capelle aan den IJssel – which has been copied countless times – or the heavy-lift vessels from Dockwise/Boskalis. The Hua Rui Long of 2022 bears a striking resemblance to the semi-submersible heavy-lift vessel Dockwise Vanguard, now Boka Vanguard, delivered in 2013, with its revolutionary, typically narrow deckhouse on one starboard side of the ship.
But we are taking steps to address this with the new EU strategy. Adopted by the European Commission (EC) on 4 March, this strategy aims to promote competitiveness, sustainability, decarbonisation, safety and resilience within the EU’s wider maritime sector. The EC’s policy focuses on ports, shipping and shipbuilding.
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Jobs and innovation
The EC promises that the strategy will create more jobs, stimulate innovation and strengthen the EU’s leadership in shipbuilding and shipping. The latter is to be achieved, among other things, through the establishment of an EU alliance for the maritime industrial value chain. The strategy focuses on promoting high-tech shipbuilding, support vessels for offshore wind energy, underwater drones and advanced port equipment.
A flagship call for research and innovation under Horizon Europe, entitled “Shipyards of the Future”, will also support the testing of innovative solutions in real-world shipyard environments, with the aim of scaling up successful technologies across Europe. To promote a competitive shipping sector, the Commission will engage in dialogue with member states to promote EU flags and streamline administrative formalities, including the monitoring, reporting and verification framework for EU ETS Maritime and FuelEU Maritime.
Public procurement directives
With the strategy, the EC wants to stimulate financing of private investments in innovation and digitalisation of shipbuilding, as well as the renewal and decarbonisation of the fleet, among other things by including targeted non-price-related criteria in the upcoming revision of the public procurement directives. This is primarily intended to thwart Chinese companies, as their low wages and government subsidies often enable them to secure orders simply because they are the cheapest, but they do not always meet the highest environmental standards.
According to the EC, this strategy ensures fair global competition for EU shipyards and marine equipment manufacturers, supported by enhanced export financing and targeted trade policies, including potentially a sector-specific instrument. Furthermore, the strategy reflects the dual-use nature of the sector by integrating a strong military dimension, with measures such as boosting industrial production capacity for the navy and developing a support mechanism for the construction of dual-use ferries.
Finally, the measures strengthen skills, training and high-quality employment throughout the sector, including retraining to apply new technologies and green operational practices.
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Stimulating demand and supply
SEA Europe is pleased that the EC’s ‘groundbreaking initiative’ is in line with the manifesto published by the Shipyards’ & Maritime Equipment Association of Europe (SEA Europe) in April 2024. In this 2024 Manifesto, SEA Europe has set out a clear objective: by 2035, European shipyards aim to deliver and convert 10,000 sustainable and digitalised vessels in Europe, across our key markets. These include cruise ships, naval vessels and other complex, high-value ships, short sea shipping, inland waterway transport, and activities in the fields of maintenance, repair, conversion and refurbishment. According to SEA Europe, the new strategy provides useful tools to achieve this.
‘We are particularly pleased with the strategy’s strong emphasis on stimulating both demand and supply,’ says Christophe Tytgat, Secretary-General of SEA Europe. ‘Creating incentives for shipowners to choose European shipyards and manufacturers of maritime equipment, whilst at the same time providing access to finance to stimulate investment in modern, efficient, innovative and sustainable shipbuilding processes, within a mutually beneficial European preference framework in high-value and emerging segments, is essential to ensure that Europe’s industrial capabilities remain competitive and future-proof.’
Lack of financing
Alongside all the praise and appreciation, Maritime & Offshore NL quite rightly also highlights the lack of sufficient attention being paid to effective financing options for the European shipbuilding industry. Maritime & Offshore NL is calling for a stronger focus on de-risking instruments, including (bank) guarantees and insurance solutions, as a prerequisite for scaling up investment. The combination of EU instruments, ETS revenues and InvestEU provides a solid basis for this, provided that these instruments are predictable and genuinely accessible to industrial projects, particularly for shipyards and SMEs.
‘The explicit focus on Basel and Solvency frameworks is crucial, but is currently lacking. This is because the current risk weighting structurally hinders investment. Initiatives aimed at European insurance and European guarantees, including national platforms such as SHIP NL, help to strengthen the sector’s financial viability and competitiveness. Collaboration is also key here,’ says Maritime & Offshore NL.
Due to the restrictive regulations known as Basel II and III and the Solvency frameworks, European banks are now barely able to invest in shipbuilding, whereas in China, banks are queuing up to do so.
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Much more is needed
It is therefore clear that much more is needed than just a well-written policy document to keep the European shipbuilding industry afloat. For as things stand, there is a real fear that even the last remaining niches in European shipbuilding will suffer the same fate as many other industries that have been completely overtaken by Chinese competition.
Cartoon by Hans de Wilde/SWZ|Maritime.
