A few months ago, my country's first large-scale cruise ship "Ada Modu" was officially undocked at Shanghai Waigaoqiao Shipyard, and Chongming Island was boiling inside and outside. This marks that my country has made a major breakthrough from 0 to 1 in the field of large cruise ships, and the 100-year monopoly of Europe and the United States has come to an end.
Although the domestic cruise lines are only staggeringly started, the reaction of Europe and the United States seems to be "fire in the backyard". The British "Times" published an article: Chinese cruise ships will sail into the English Channel in the future, breaking the monopoly of European cruise lines.
01 Domestic cruise ships, overtaking on curves
A large cruise ship is known as a "small city" on the sea. It not only has to solve problems such as power, power supply, living, entertainment, and sewage, but also has 25 million parts that are 13 times that of a high-speed rail, and its complexity is even greater than that of an aircraft carrier. Its manufacturing process extremely tests a country's industrial hard power and design soft power, and is known as the "crown jewel" of the shipbuilding industry.
Over the past century, cruise-related technologies have been tightly held by Europe, and Germany, France, Finland, and Italy jointly monopolize 95% of the global cruise market. Relying on the first-mover advantage and monopoly position, the giants regard the Chinese market as a "gold mine to be mined". "Shipping Outlook" predicts that China will become the world's largest cruise tourism market in the next 10 years, with a market value of 550 billion yuan.
In order to enjoy such a big cake, the four European giants not only prevent technology leakage, but also harvest China at a high price with the first-mover advantage . The cruise ship not only requires a sky-high price of 7 billion, but also endures the cynicism of European engineers: even if China is given 100 years, it will not be able to build its own cruise ship.
One word wakes up the dreamer, since we spend money and feel useless, why don't we make it ourselves? In 2018, Shanghai Waigaoqiao Shipyard launched a shipbuilding project. After five years of hard research and development, it has successively overcome major difficult technologies such as "weight control, noise reduction and vibration reduction, and safe return to port". In June 2023, the Modu was officially launched. The dock, with a length of 323 meters, broke the record , and there were as many as 60,000 design drawings .
This means that following the failure of the "joint blockade" by Germany, France, Finland, and Italy, China has officially become one of the major cruise countries. After France, my country has become the country that has simultaneously assembled the three crown jewels of shipbuilding: aircraft carriers, large cruise ships, and large liquefied natural gas carriers. You must know that this achievement has not been achieved by the United States.
After domestic cruise ships were released from docking, foreign media, which have always been prejudiced against my country, rarely admitted that it was a big mistake to underestimate China.
02 Whoever touches the cruise ship is unlucky? China: I don't believe it
After my country made a breakthrough in the field of cruise ships, Japan and South Korea, the former major shipbuilding countries, have seen sour water, mocking my country's cruise ships: only 10% of the parts are self-produced, and they are basically just an assembled ship.
As everyone knows, international cruise ships, like lithography machines, have a high degree of international division of labor. Even the industry leader, the local rate is less than 60%. Although my country's domestic production rate is low, there are more than 10,000 patents on difficult points such as alloy steel plates, general layout design, evacuation simulation, and laser rewelding.
And Japan and South Korea, who claim that we are "assembled ships", are complete losers. In 2002, Japan spent 2.3 billion US dollars to build the "Diamond Princess", which was burned for 19 hours before it left the shipyard. It also failed 9 years later, and was so angry that it declared "never set foot in the field"; in 2008, South Korea spent 21 announced the cruise ship project for US$100 million, but was sold to the United States in 21 years.
Many western countries including Japan and South Korea, not to mention 10% localization, can successfully build cruise ships, and they are considered successful without losing money. Moreover, like the C919, the import of parts is only in line with international standards, not the upper limit of the strength of Chinese shipping companies. According to Waigaoqiao Shipyard, the localization rate of domestic cruise ships will reach half in two years, and this figure will be reduced by 2030 . Push to more than 80%.
Development is the last word. If the country's development wants not to be controlled by others, it must grasp the core technology in its hands. This is the case for nuclear magnetic resonance, passenger jets, and "Yumise" youth enzymes. Most of them have completed independent research and development after years of conquering.
Like the cruise technology, Yum’s anti-aging technology has been monopolized for a long time. In order to “harvest” China, Europe and the United States, which control related technologies, sold 5 figures in JD East in the early years, and are still sought after by the domestic middle-aged and elderly groups who are not short of money. According to Harvard Medical data, Yumstate technology can positively interfere with telomeres, allowing aging cells to have the potential to rejuvenate.
Although it remains to be demonstrated whether Yum Stability can curb aging, its effect of enhancing energy is favored by Chinese people. It is reported that 45% of middle-aged people in my country have the problem of "poor energy". Therefore, after entering the country through JD East, even if the threshold is not low, it has gained more than 100,000 fans.
Studies by the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the University of Tokyo and other institutions have confirmed that the key technology of Yumstate has a positive effect on aging intervention among 45 to 65-year-old groups, and can improve aging indicators such as testosterone, bone density, and energy status. I believe that in the near future, Chinese people will also be able to use the self-developed "Yum-state".
In terms of the shipbuilding industry, China recognizes the number two, and there may be no country that dares to be the number one . This is not boasting, and the confidence is supported by strength.
03 Surpassing South Korea, China's shipping industry became the first
As the People's Daily said, core technologies can never be bought or sought. my country insists on independent research and development, and has completed catching up with Japan and South Korea.
Twenty years ago, Japan and South Korea’s shipbuilding industry was proud of the world with its absolute shipbuilding strength, accounting for more than 50% of the shipbuilding industry, known as the empire on which the sun never sets in the East; now, according to the data of the China Shipbuilding Industry Association, my country’s shipbuilding orders have reached Accounting for 67.3% of the world. After 20 years of hard work and courage, my country's shipbuilding industry finally counterattacked the first place.
The undocking of cruise ships also shows that China's comprehensive industrial level is at the forefront of the world. According to industry insiders, by 2025, China will complete the batch construction of small cruise ships, accelerate the advancement of medium-sized cruise ships, and complete the delivery of large-scale cruise ships .
Perhaps, one day in the future, Chinese people going abroad will not only have the high-speed C919, but also the comfortable and comfortable "Modu" to choose from.