Marine Industry and ShipbuildingGold report

Published May 2026Insight Research24 min read2026 Edition16 sources, 15 primary-gradeVery high source depth

Thailand Marine Industry, Shipbuilding and Yacht Market Intelligence

Thai marine industry pairs a ~10K-vessel fishing fleet with state and private shipbuilders (Bangkok Dock, Marsun, Italthai Marine, ASIMAR, Unithai) and a Phuket-Phang Nga yacht cluster. Cargo and container vessels are imported; local yards build naval, offshore, fishing, ferry and yacht hulls.

Key takeaways

1
Thailand operates approximately 10,000 registered commercial fishing vessels in 2025, down from roughly 50,000 before the 2015 EU IUU yellow card forced a registration and traceability reform; the card was formally lifted in January 2019.
2
Cargo and container vessels are almost entirely imported from Korean, Japanese and Chinese yards; local Thai shipbuilders specialise in fishing craft, ferry and tug, naval and patrol, offshore support, and yacht and superyacht hulls.
3
State-owned Bangkok Dock anchors naval and ferry repair, Marsun supplies fast patrol craft to the Royal Thai Navy, Marine Police and Customs, and Italthai Marine layers superyacht and luxury motor-yacht builds on top of a naval pedigree.
4
Asian Marine Services (SET: ASIMAR) and Unithai Shipyard cover Eastern Seaboard offshore, tug, barge, tanker conversion and drydock repair; Thai Union runs the captive refrigerated tuna purse-seine fleet, the largest Thai-flagged distant-water operator after IUU reform.
5
Phuket and Phang Nga Bay hold roughly 1,000-1,100 superyacht-capable berths across Yacht Haven (~370), Ao Po Grand (~315), Boat Lagoon (~170) and Royal Phuket (~140), supported by the Phuket Rendezvous yacht show.

Executive summary

Thailand's marine industry is a five-segment story rather than a single market. A roughly 10,000-vessel commercial fishing fleet sits alongside a small but technically capable shipbuilding base that builds patrol craft, ferries, offshore support vessels, fishing boats and yacht hulls; cargo and container ships are imported from Korea, Japan and China and registered through the Marine Department. The Department of Fisheries registry shrank from approximately 50,000 vessels before the 2015 EU IUU yellow card to about 10,000 today after a fleet-reform programme combining licence buy-backs, vessel-monitoring system mandates and labour-protection reform; the European Commission formally lifted the card in January 2019.^{[, ]}

On the build side, Bangkok Dock Company (state, founded 1957 as a Royal Thai Navy enterprise) anchors naval new-build and repair; Marsun PCL supplies fast patrol craft to the Royal Thai Navy, Marine Police and Customs from its Samut Prakan yard; Italthai Marine combines patrol-craft work with superyacht and luxury motor-yacht hulls under the Italthai Group umbrella. Eastern Seaboard yards Asian Marine Services (SET: ASIMAR, Laem Chabang) and Unithai Shipyard and Engineering (Map Ta Phut) cover offshore support, tug, barge, tanker conversion and drydock repair tied to PTTEP, Chevron and contracted offshore wind work.^{[, , , , ]}

On the recreational side, Phuket and Phang Nga Bay are the only meaningful international yacht cluster between Singapore and Langkawi. Four superyacht-capable marinas (Yacht Haven, Ao Po Grand, Boat Lagoon, Royal Phuket) carry roughly 1,000-1,100 berths combined; the annual Phuket Rendezvous (formerly Phuket International Boat Show) is the central marketing event. Maritime education runs through Mahanakorn University of Technology (MUT) marine engineering, Mahachulalongkorn Marine Studies and Thai Maritime Navigation Centre STCW officer training, feeding both the merchant marine and a domestic yard hiring pipeline.^{[, , , , , , ]}

Department of Fisheries, Marine Department, yard disclosures, marina disclosures

Data as of: 2025 full-year, with 2026 indicators

Thai registered fishing fleet (thousands of vessels, 2014-2025)

2014

Vessels (000s)

50.0

Context

Pre-IUU yellow card; loosely registered, including unmonitored small craft.

2018

Vessels (000s)

11.0

Context

Reform complete; vessel-monitoring system and labour audits enforced.

2021

Vessels (000s)

10.4

Context

Card lifted January 2019; fleet stabilised after retirement and consolidation.

2023

Vessels (000s)

10.2

Context

Distant-water purse seine still capped under post-reform licensing.

2025

Vessels (000s)

10.0

Context

Steady-state structure; Thai Union and a handful of cooperatives anchor distant-water.

Year	Vessels (000s)	Context
2014	50.0	Pre-IUU yellow card; loosely registered, including unmonitored small craft.
2018	11.0	Reform complete; vessel-monitoring system and labour audits enforced.
2021	10.4	Card lifted January 2019; fleet stabilised after retirement and consolidation.
2023	10.2	Distant-water purse seine still capped under post-reform licensing.
2025	10.0	Steady-state structure; Thai Union and a handful of cooperatives anchor distant-water.

Department of Fisheries vessel registry, EU DG MARE

Data as of: 2025

Vessel category mix (% of registered active Thai-flag vessels, 2025)

Fishing (small-scale, commercial, distant-water)

Share %

55%

Notes

Includes Thai Union purse seine, coastal trawl, artisanal.

Ferry, tug, coastal commercial

Share %

18%

Notes

Chao Phraya, Andaman tourism, Gulf coastal trade.

Naval, patrol, government

Share %

12%

Notes

Royal Thai Navy, Marine Police, Customs, Department of Marine and Coastal Resources.

Offshore support (oil and gas, wind)

Share %

Notes

PTTEP, Chevron, contracted offshore wind survey.

Yacht, superyacht, recreational

Share %

Notes

Andaman cluster plus Thai-flag charter; smaller Gulf side.

Vessel category	Share %	Notes
Fishing (small-scale, commercial, distant-water)	55%	Includes Thai Union purse seine, coastal trawl, artisanal.
Ferry, tug, coastal commercial	18%	Chao Phraya, Andaman tourism, Gulf coastal trade.
Naval, patrol, government	12%	Royal Thai Navy, Marine Police, Customs, Department of Marine and Coastal Resources.
Offshore support (oil and gas, wind)	8%	PTTEP, Chevron, contracted offshore wind survey.
Yacht, superyacht, recreational	7%	Andaman cluster plus Thai-flag charter; smaller Gulf side.

Department of Fisheries, Marine Department, operator disclosures

Data as of: 2025

Analyst framing

Why this report

Thai marine industry rarely gets profiled as a coherent sector because it spans state shipyards, private military builders, listed offshore yards, captive fishing operators and a Phuket yacht cluster. This report stitches the five segments into one operator map, anchors the fishing-fleet figure post-IUU reform, and frames the imported cargo and container fleet so that buyers understand what Thai yards actually build versus what they repair or refit.

Operator playbooks

Bangkok Dock Company (state, founded 1957) is the oldest active Thai shipyard, originally established to serve the Royal Thai Navy. The Klong Toei and Bang Na facilities cover patrol-craft new-build, ferry conversion and commercial drydock repair. Strategic role: state guarantor for naval capability that the private yards alone could not sustain; commercial work is a margin top-up rather than a core franchise.

Marsun PCL (Samut Prakan) is the leading private military shipbuilder. Specialises in aluminium-hull fast patrol craft, riverine and coastal vessels for the Royal Thai Navy, Marine Police, Customs and Department of Marine and Coastal Resources, with periodic export contracts in Southeast Asia. Strategic role: substitutes domestically for imported patrol craft and keeps a Thai-flag defence supply chain credible.

Italthai Marine (Italthai Group) is the sector's most diversified yard: it builds long-range patrol craft and fast naval boats while also taking superyacht and luxury motor-yacht commissions. The dual revenue stream lets the yard hold technical staff between naval contracts. Strategic role: only Thai yard with sustained yacht-build credentials beyond refit and aftercare.

Asian Marine Services PCL (SET: ASIMAR) is the SET-listed reference point. The Laem Chabang yard covers offshore support vessels, tugs, barges, ship repair and conversion. Listed disclosure provides the cleanest read on revenue, backlog and customer mix in a sector otherwise dominated by private companies. Strategic role: the investor proxy for Thai shipbuilding and offshore services.

Unithai Shipyard and Engineering (Map Ta Phut, Unithai Group) is the heaviest-tonnage capability on the Eastern Seaboard: offshore platform fabrication, tanker conversion, drydock repair for VLCC-class vessels. Customer base anchored by PTTEP, Chevron and contracted offshore wind survey work. Strategic role: the only Thai yard credibly competing for heavy offshore-fabrication scopes.

Thai Union (SET: TU) is the captive operator that matters most in the fishing segment. TU owns and charters the largest Thai-flag distant-water tuna purse-seine fleet, including refrigerated vessels, and was central to the post-IUU labour and traceability upgrades that lifted the EU yellow card. Strategic role: anchor tenant of the post-reform fleet and the buyer reference for fishing-vessel new-build commissioned out of Thai and regional yards.

Yacht cluster and marina mechanics

Phuket and Phang Nga Bay are the only meaningful international superyacht cluster between Singapore's Sentosa Cove and Langkawi's Rebak Marina. Four marinas dominate. Phuket Yacht Haven at Cape Yamu is the largest by berth count at roughly 370 berths with on-site customs and immigration for international yacht entry. Ao Po Grand Marina on Phang Nga Bay carries roughly 315 berths plus dry stack and is the superyacht-capable charter hub. Boat Lagoon (~170 berths) bundles berths with an integrated boatyard and Princess, Fairline dealer operations. Royal Phuket Marina on Koh Sirey (~140 berths) is the premium-tier address and hosts the Phuket Rendezvous show.

Yacht-build economics are thin in absolute terms but strategically important. Italthai Marine is the only Thai yard with sustained superyacht hull credentials; the rest of the cluster economy runs on refit, repair, charter management and broker operations. The cluster's structural advantage is geography: the Andaman is a year-round cruising ground (with a defined monsoon-shoulder routing) and Thai customs allows long-stay yacht admission under temporary import regulations, making Phuket the preferred winter base for Asia-Pacific yacht traffic from Australia, Hong Kong and Singapore.

Unlock the full report

Operator playbooks across state, private military, listed offshore and yacht yards; marina concentration; BOI shipbuilding incentives and IUU compliance framework; scenarios to 2031; and the maritime education pipeline that feeds yard and officer hiring.

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