CSBC Corporation, Taiwan (, literally "Taiwan International Shipbuilding Corporation") is a company that produces ships for

civilian A civilian is a person who is not a member of an armed force. It is war crime, illegal under the law of armed conflict to target civilians with military attacks, along with numerous other considerations for civilians during times of war. If a civi ...

and military use in

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...

. It is headquartered in

Kaohsiung Kaohsiung, officially Kaohsiung City, is a special municipality located in southern Taiwan. It ranges from the coastal urban center to the rural Yushan Range with an area of . Kaohsiung City has a population of approximately 2.73 million p ...

, with

shipyards A shipyard, also called a dockyard or boatyard, is a place where ships are built and repaired. These can be yachts, military vessels, cruise liners or other cargo or passenger ships. Compared to shipyards, which are sometimes more involved ...

and

Keelung Keelung ( ; zh, p=Jīlóng, c=基隆, poj=Ke-lâng), Chilung or Jilong ( ; ), officially known as Keelung City, is a major port city in northeastern Taiwan. The city is part of the Taipei–Keelung metropolitan area with neighboring New Ta ...

. For decades it was a

state-owned enterprise A state-owned enterprise (SOE) is a business entity created or owned by a national or local government, either through an executive order or legislation. SOEs aim to generate profit for the government, prevent private sector monopolies, provide goo ...

which also produced commercial vessels for foreign customers. it was privatized in 2008, involving an

IPO An initial public offering (IPO) or stock launch is a public offering in which shares of a company are sold to institutional investors and usually also to retail (individual) investors. An IPO is typically underwritten by one or more investment ...

Operations

In 2021 government and naval vessels accounted for 60% of CSBC’s operations.

Modification and repair

As of 2019 ship repair accounted for 3–5% of CSBC revenues, with the company working to increase that share because of favorable margins in the space. In 2019 CSBC Corp. completed a

green retrofit Green is the color between cyan and yellow on the visible spectrum. It is evoked by light which has a dominant wavelength of roughly 495570 nm. In subtractive color systems, used in painting and color printing, it is created by a combi ...

of a 13,000 TEU container ship owned by

Orient Overseas Container Line Orient Overseas Container Line, commonly known as OOCL, is a container shipping and logistics service company with headquarters in Hong Kong. The company is incorporated in Hong Kong as Orient Overseas Container Line Limited and separately inc ...

. Modifications included a flue gas desulfurization system to bring the ship into compliance with

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

IMO 2020 emissions goals.

History

CSBC Corporation, Taiwan, formerly known as China Shipbuilding Corporation (CSBC, ), is the result of the merger of Taiwan Shipbuilding Corporation and China Shipbuilding Corporation. Shipbuilding in Taiwan began in 1937 during the Japanese colonial period when Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Corporation founded the Taiwan Dockyard Corporation. Following Japan's defeat in

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, the

Republic of China Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...

authorities established Taiwan Machinery and Shipbuilding Company by merging the existing Taiwan Dockyard Corporation with Taiwan Steel Works and Tōkō Kōgyō Corporation. Two years later, in 1948, the company split into two state-owned companies called Taiwan Machinery Corporation and Taiwan Shipbuilding Corporation (TSBC). China Shipbuilding Corporation (CSBC) was founded in 1973 and reverted to a government-owned company in 1977. CSBC and TSBC merged in 1978 and was known as China Shipbuilding Corporation until 2007. On 9 February 2007, the board approved the name change to CSBC Corporation, Taiwan. Critics argued that the name change was another case of

Chen Shui-bian Chen Shui-bian ( zh, t=陳水扁; born 12 October 1950) is a Taiwanese former politician and lawyer who served as the fifth president of the Republic of China (Taiwan) from 2000 to 2008. Chen was the first president from the Democratic Progres ...

de-Sinicization De-Sinicization is a process of eliminating or reducing Han Chinese cultural elements, identity, or consciousness from a society or nation. In modern contexts, it is often contrasted with the assimilation process of Sinicization. The term has ...

act, while proponents argued that the name change would help to avoid potential confusion with the People's Republic of China. In 2008 CSBC’s production value reached 1.131b USD, 54% of Taiwan’s total shipbuilding industry output for that year. According to its website, the company has built container ships, one-of-a-kind commercial ships and semi-submersible heavy-lift transport ships, including the . Furthermore, it has built ships, submarines and advanced naval weapons for the

Republic of China Navy The Republic of China Navy (ROCN, Chinese, 中華民國海軍) , colloquially known as the Taiwanese Navy ( Chinese, 台湾海军) by Western or mainland Chinese media, or commonly referred as the National Military Navy ( Chinese, 國軍海軍) ...

, patrol vessels for the

Coast Guard Administration The Coast Guard Administration of the Ocean Affairs Council (CGA), also operating as the ROC Coast Guard, is charged with maintaining law and order; protecting the resources of the territorial waters of the Republic of China (Taiwan), which surr ...

, and research vessels for the

Taiwan Ocean Research Institute The Taiwan Ocean Research Institute (TORI; ) is the national marine science and technology institute of Taiwan. TORI is part of the National Applied Research Laboratories under the auspices of the Ministry of Science and Technology (Taiwan). His ...

. CSBC is participating in the development of the first domestic Taiwanese AUV. In 2018 CSBC entered into an alliance with

Yang Ming Marine Transport Corporation Yang Ming Marine Transport Corporation () is a Taiwanese container shipping company based in Keelung, Taiwan. History The company was founded in 1972 as a shipping line, but has historical links through its merger with the China Merchants Steam N ...

, Taiwan Navigation Co Ltd, and

Taiwan International Ports Corporation The Taiwan International Ports Corporation (TIPC; ) is a state-owned shipping company in Taiwan that operates ports in Taiwan. History Under the ''Taiwan International Ports Corporation, Ltd. Establishment Act'', the company was founded on March ...

to provide marine services to Taiwan's burgeoning

offshore wind power Offshore wind power or offshore wind energy is the generation of electricity through wind farms in bodies of water, usually at sea. There are higher wind speeds offshore than on land, so offshore farms generate more electricity per amount of ca ...

sector. CSBC has a joint venture with DEME Wind Engineering to offer wind farm construction in East Asia. In 2019 they were hired by

Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners P/S ("CIP") is a Danish investment firm specializing in infrastructure investments, particularly wind power. CIP is one of the world's largest dedicated renewables investment firms with €32 billion raised and ...

to transport and install wind turbines at two new wind farm off Taiwan. The two wind farms have a combined capacity of 600MW and are expected to be completed by 2023. CSBC has been contracted to build eight conventional

attack submarines An attack submarine or hunter-killer submarine is a submarine specifically designed for the purpose of attacking and sinking other submarines, surface combatants, and merchant vessels. In the Soviet Navy, Soviet and Russian Navy, Russian navies ...

for the

. The model featured an X-form rudder. The initial project contract is for US$3.3 billion with projected procurement costs of US$10bn for a fleet of ten boats. CSBC is set to deliver ten 2,800 TEU container vessels to Yang Ming Marine Transport Corporation between January 2020 and February 2021. In July 2019 CSBC launched the CSBC No. 15, a barge designed to support CSBC’s offshore wind power business. The barge has a loading capacity of 23,000 metric tons and a loading deck bearing strength 20 metric tons per square meter. It is 41 meters wide by 140 meters long and cost NT$700 million to build. In October 2021 CSBC launched the ''YM Cooperation'' for Yang Ming Marine Transport Corporation, the 2,940 TEU containership has a high level of modularity and environmental sustainability. In September 2023, CSBC launched Taiwan's first domestically built submarine '' Haikun''() at its shipyard in Kaohsiung. The event was presided over by Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen. In March 2025 CSBC publicly unveiled the

CSBC Endeavor Manta The CSBC Endeavor Manta is an uncrewed surface vehicle (USV) produced by CSBC Corporation, Taiwan. History Taiwan's pursuit of USVs was largely driven by their use in the Russo-Ukrainian War and a growing invasion threat to Taiwan from China. Ac ...

, an

uncrewed surface vehicle An unmanned surface vehicle, unmanned surface vessel or uncrewed surface vessel (USV), colloquially called a drone boat, drone ship or sea drone, is a boat or ship that operates on the surface of the water without a crew. USVs operate with v ...

Ships built

Government

* * Cheng Kung-class frigate :* :* :* :* :* :* :* :* *

Ching Chiang-class patrol ship The ''Ching Chiang'' class () is a class of patrol ships/corvettes built by CSBC Corporation, Taiwan, CSBC for the Republic of China Navy. Overview Named after the Jin River (Bei River tributary), Jinjiang river in Guangdong, China, this cl ...

* Kuang Hua VI-class missile boat *

Dvora-class fast patrol boat The Dvora-class fast patrol boat is a fast class of patrol boats built by Israel Aerospace Industries for the Israeli Sea Corps based on the Israeli . Operational history Sri Lanka The Dvora class has become the work horse of the Sri Lanka ...

* Chiayi-class offshore patrol vessel * Yushan-class landing platform dock * Hai Kun-class submarine *

Da Wu-class rescue and salvage ship The ''Da Wu'' class are a class of Taiwanese naval rescue and salvage ships. The lead vessel, ''Da Wu'' (大武, ARS-571), was delivered to the Republic of China Navy (ROCN) in 2024. History Construction began in 2021 and the keel of the le ...

Commercial

* Marlin Class Heavy Lift Ship :* :* * * Fort Saint Louis class containers ships :*CMA CGM Fort Saint Louis :*CMA CGM Fort Saint Pierre :*CMA CGM Fort Sainte Marie :*CMA CGM Fort Saint Georges * Green Jade File:ROCN Panshi (AOE-532) at Zuoying Naval Base 20151024.jpg, Pan Shi Fast Combat Support Ship (AOE-532) File:04.13 總統出席「海軍新型兩棲船塢運輸艦命名暨下水典禮」 - Flickr id 51112816358.jpg, Yushan landing platform dock (LPD-1401) File:新北艦（2000噸級） 02.jpg, 127 Xinbei, a 2000-ton patrol vessel built for Coast Guard Administration File:偉星艦（2000噸級） 02.jpg, 102 Wei Hsung, a 1,800-ton patrol vessel built for the Coast Guard Administration in 1992 File:US Navy 060109-N-3019M-012 The heavy lift vessel MV Blue Marlin enters Pearl Harbor, Hawaii with the Sea Based X-Band Radar (SBX) aboard.jpg,

Sea-Based X-Band Radar The Sea-Based X-band radar (SBX-1) is a floating, self-propelled, mobile active electronically scanned array early-warning radar station designed to operate in high winds and heavy seas. It was developed as part of the United States Department of ...

enters

Pearl Harbor Pearl Harbor is an American lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. It was often visited by the naval fleet of the United States, before it was acquired from the Hawaiian Kingdom by the U.S. with the signing of the Reci ...

on 9 January 2006 on its way to

Adak Island Adak Island (, ; ) or Father Island is an island near the western extent of the Andreanof Islands group of the Aleutian Islands in Alaska. Alaska's southernmost city, Adak, is located on the island. The island has a land area of , measuring lo ...

Alaska Alaska ( ) is a non-contiguous U.S. state on the northwest extremity of North America. Part of the Western United States region, it is one of the two non-contiguous U.S. states, alongside Hawaii. Alaska is also considered to be the north ...

, transported by MV ''Blue Marlin'' File:CMA CGM Fort St Pierre (ship, 2003) 001.jpg, CMA CGM Fort St Pierre, launched 2003 File:Patrol vessel of Coast Guard Administration CG 5002 Hsinchu at the launching ceremony 20210428.jpg, Chiayi-class offshore patrol vessel File:09.28 總統主持「潛艦國造原型艦命名暨下水典禮」 - Flickr id 53219332200.jpg, Hai Kun-class submarine

Popular culture

CSBC and one of its ships is featured in episode two of the

National Geographic Channel National Geographic (formerly National Geographic Channel; abbreviated and trademarked as Nat Geo or Nat Geo TV) is an American pay television network and flagship channel owned by the National Geographic Global Networks unit of Disney Enter ...

’s ''Superstructures: Engineering Marvels''.

References

External links

CSBC Corporation, Taiwan homepage
{{Authority control Manufacturing companies based in Kaohsiung Shipbuilding companies of Taiwan Vehicle manufacturing companies established in 1937 1937 establishments in Taiwan Defence companies of Taiwan Taiwanese boat builders Maritime history of Taiwan Submarine builders