Editing Ship (section)

===Construction===
{{Main|Shipbuilding}}
[[File:Brosen northern side lauching2.jpg|thumb|right|A [[Ship naming and launching|ship launching]] at the Northern Shipyard in [[Gdańsk, Poland]]]]
Ship construction takes place in a [[shipyard]], and can last from a few months for a unit produced in series, to several years to reconstruct a wooden boat like the frigate ''Hermione'', to more than 10&nbsp;years for an aircraft carrier. During [[World War II]], the need for cargo ships was so urgent that construction time for [[Liberty ship|Liberty Ships]] went from initially eight months or longer, down to weeks or even days. Builders employed production line and prefabrication techniques such as those used in shipyards today.<ref name="Sawyer" /><ref name="Jaffee" /><ref name="Herman" />

Hull materials and vessel size play a large part in determining the method of construction. The hull of a mass-produced fiberglass sailboat is constructed from a mold, while the steel hull of a cargo ship is made from large sections welded together as they are built.

Generally, construction starts with the hull, and on vessels over about {{convert|30|m|ft|0|sp=us}}, by the laying of the keel. This is done in a [[drydock]] or on land. Once the hull is assembled and painted, it is launched. The last stages, such as raising the superstructure and adding equipment and accommodation, can be done after the vessel is afloat.

Once completed, the vessel is delivered to the customer. [[Ship naming and launching|Ship launching]] is often a ceremony of some significance, and is usually when the vessel is formally named. A typical small rowboat can cost under US$100, $1,000 for a small speedboat, tens of thousands of dollars for a cruising sailboat, and about $2,000,000 for a [[Vendée Globe]] class sailboat. A {{convert|25|m|ft|sp=us}} trawler may cost $2.5&nbsp;million, and a 1,000-person-capacity high-speed passenger ferry can cost in the neighborhood of $50&nbsp;million. A ship's cost partly depends on its complexity: a small, [[general cargo ship]] will cost $20&nbsp;million, a [[Panamax]]-sized [[bulk carrier]] around $35&nbsp;million, a [[supertanker]] around $105&nbsp;million and a large [[LNG carrier]] nearly $200&nbsp;million. The most expensive ships generally are so because of the cost of embedded electronics: a {{sclass|Seawolf|submarine}} costs around $2&nbsp;billion, and an aircraft carrier goes for about $3.5&nbsp;billion.

In 2023, the majority of the world's ships (95% of global output) were built in just three countries: [[China]], [[South Korea]] and [[Japan]].<ref name="UNCTAD2024"/>