The first stage of shipbuilding is to get a bid proposal from several developers

and builders, that is to get an estimate of the ship size, construction time and
the general cost. Ships are built in specialised facilities called shipyards. They
can vary from small to large in terms of their size and technical operations.
Shipyards can employ naval architects to design a ship that suits the shipowners
order. They tell naval architects the type of ship it has to be, what cargo it will
carry, the desired speed, but most importantly, the ship design has to comply with
all international regulations. The purchasing of materials and equipment must be
sought on time. It is necessary to supervise the delivery dates of the materials to
obtain them on time aswell. A good production plan is vital to smooth operation.
The whole ship construction begins with steel cutting: steel plates are cut into
proper shapes and sizes to form the hull and deck of the ship. After that comes
plate assembly: in this stage all the cut plates are assembled piece by piece into
blocks. Next is mounting of blocks: the assembled blocks are mounted or installed
using cranes or rigs. When all the blocks are mounted and connected, the ship is
launched. There can be dry dock launching and slipway lauching. The first one is
filling the dock with water to float the ship, while the latter is making the ship
slide into sea. After a succesful launch the sea trials begin. This is the last
stage of the shipbuilding process. The trials test the vessel's performance,
equipment, safety features, etc. Once the vessel passes the trials it is delivered
to the client.