On November 19, Dalian Shipbuilding Industry Group Co., Ltd. issued an obituary. Comrade Shen Wensun, a member of the Communist Party of China, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, an expert in the field of ship design and construction in China, and the former chief designer of Dalian Shipbuilding Industry Group Co., Ltd., passed away at 20:15 on November 17, 2025, at Dalian University Affiliated Zhongshan Hospital after ineffective medical treatment, at the age of 95.
Shen Wensun was born in Haiyan County, Zhejiang Province in May 1930. He graduated from the Shipbuilding Department of Shanghai Jiao Tong University in August 1953. He served as an engineer at Dalian Shipbuilding, an engineer and deputy section chief of the technical section at Chongqing Shipyard, a researcher at the Shanghai East Sea Fleet Hydrofoil unit, and held positions as deputy director, deputy chief engineer, and chief designer at the Dalian Shipbuilding Research Institute. He enjoyed the special government allowance from the State Council. He was elected as an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering in 1997.
Shen Wensun devoted his life to ship design and development and was a widely influential leader in China’s shipbuilding industry. He always remained at the forefront of scientific research, bravely shouldered heavy responsibilities, and broke through the technical bottlenecks in the design and manufacturing of large ships in China. The ships he led the design for, including the 69,000-ton /product oil tanker, the 98,000-ton double-hull oil tanker, the 150,000-ton bulk carrier, the 110,000-ton and 150,000-ton product oil tankers, and the 52,000-ton multi-purpose container ship, reached international advanced levels and filled domestic gaps. He created multiple “Chinese Famous Brands,” broke the “zero” record for the construction of 300,000-ton Very Large Crude Carriers (VLCC), and opened a new era for China in building VLCCs. Comrade Shen Wensun won the first and second prizes of the National Science and Technology Progress Award multiple times, received the Ho Leung Ho Lee Foundation Science and Technology Progress Award in 2003, and was awarded the Lifetime Contribution to the Ocean Memorial Award.
Shen Wensun’s life was one of indifference to fame and fortune and a willingness to be a stepping stone for others. Throughout his research career, he was a model of integrity, rigorous in style, and strived for excellence. He cultivated a group of scientific research talents for China’s shipbuilding industry who dared to innovate and were good at practice, and built an excellent team that was courageous, responsible, and determined to tackle key problems. Comrade Shen Wensun lived a life of kindness, loyalty, and devotion to the country. His loyalty to the motherland, his love for the shipbuilding industry, and his persistent pursuit of science have been deeply integrated into China’s shipbuilding industry, setting a shining example for future generations!
Shen Wensun’s passing is a significant loss to China’s shipbuilding industry. In accordance with Shen Wensun’s last wishes and the wishes of his family, the funeral arrangements were kept simple. The farewell ceremony for his remains was held at 7:20 AM on November 19, 2025, at the Dalian Funeral Parlor and has concluded.
