New central subsidies for scrapping and renewing coastal and inland river ships in China

In August 2024, China’s Ministry of Transport and National Development and Reform Commission jointly released a new subsidy policy that offers broader eligibility and higher subsidies than the previous policy to coastal ships and inland river vessels. The new policy also extends the scope to ships powered by methanol, hydrogen, ammonia, and electricity (Figure). This signals China’s commitment to advancing cleaner energy and reducing emissions from shipping, and over the period from 2024 from 2028, up to $21 billion in subsidies will be allocated. This paper explains the key aspects of the new policy and compares it with the previous policy, which was in effect from 2015 to 2019.

Figure. Timeline of central subsidy policies for ship scrappage and renewal in China

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