China Shipbuilding Industry Corporation (CSIC) on Friday did not deny reports that it has started a new project on researching "key technologies and safety for nuclear-powered ships," which analysts believed to be linked to China's desire for nuclear-powered aircraft carriers.

The official website of CSIC, one of China's largest shipbuilders, published a report on the new project on Wednesday, Chinese media reported, but the report had been removed from the website on Friday.

A CSIC press officer told the Global Times Friday that publication on the company's website would confirm the project, but that any information found elsewhere could not be verified.

According to screenshots, the information came from a work report from the corporation's "719" institute located in Wuhan, Hubei Province.

"Nuclear-powered ships are a new project on the Chinese mainland although China already has nuclear-powered submarines," Chen Donglong, a military expert from Taiwan, told a Shenzhen Satellite TV report on Friday.

"But now a new project mentions nuclear-powered ships once again, which we can imagine refers to an aircraft carrier," Chen said.

China's first conventionally powered aircraft carrier, the Liaoning, entered operation last year but many analysts believe the country will research and build nuclear-powered aircraft carriers in the near future.

This information about research on nuclear-powered ships led to CSIC stock prices to hit their daily limit on Friday.