Shipbuilding order book of EU-27, UK, and Norway by ship type 2004-2020
Since 2004, shipyards in the European Union and Norway have moved away from manufacturing cargo ships to building passenger ships. This shift in European shipbuilding was caused by the emergence of East Asian countries - namely China, South Korea, and Japan - as the dominant shipbuilding countries of cargo ships, especially container ships. Instead of competing with their East Asian rivals, European shipyards focused on manufacturing passenger ships, such as cruise ships, ferries, and yachts.
