Rolls-Royce has been increasing its marine business in China annually over recent years and has opened a factory in 2005 in Shanghai to serve the world's largest commercial shipbuilding market. Together with an existing facility in South Korea , the new factory forms a production hub for North-East Asia.

Rolls-Royce has a strong presence in the marine sector, having delivered a wide range of products over a number of years as well as a very comprehensive orderbook, covering a multitude of products and systems extending many years forward in time.Rolls-Royce also has offices in Dalian and Hong Kong. Shanghai is responsible for the company’s marine activity in China, includinggas turbines, diesel engines, propellers, water jets, rudders, steering gear and deck machinery, in addition to TotalCare® maintenance and support Rolls-Royce has supplied many different marine products to shipyards in Shanghai and the first train ferry built at Jiangnan for Hainan Island is equipped with a Rolls-Royce propulsion system.

Recently, Rolls-Royce has secured a contact worth approximately £11.4 million for a propulsion system for two dredgers with the Chinese ship?

The Jiangsu Yangzijiang yard outside Shanghai has awarded Rolls-Royce the title 'Excellent Appointed Supplier', making it the yard's preferred supplier of windlass and mooring winches, steering gear and bow thrusters.

Owner Guangzhou Dredging Company, part of the China Communication Construction Company. The supply includes: two ship sets of engines, controllable pitch propellers, gearbox and tunnel thrusters. The vessels will be built at the Guangzhou Wenchong Shipyard China Offshore Oil Corporation ordered seven supply vessels for which Rolls-Royce is supplying a range of marine equipment for five of the vessels. The US-based Tidewater Company placed orders for five high performance anchor-handling winches, bulk handling systems and steering gear, for which the total business is worth more than US$40 million.

In the 1990s Aquamaster thrusters were supplied to some 56 vessels built in China.

Hong Kong is kept on the move by Rolls-Royce marine engines, which can be found in two thirds of the Star Ferry fleet of vessels which cross Victoria Harbour every day. The Crossley brand engines have been providing faithful service for more than 30 years. Rolls-Royce gas turbine engines are also used on some 20 of the craft owned by Far East Hydrofoil which speed between Hong Kong and Macau.