Introduction of PLM in domestic shipyards is being retarded as ship PLM has yet to firm up return of investment and process integration. To implement a ship PLM system, it is required to share ship CAD model data in various design and manufacturing environments. Lightweight CAD models provide a promising solution for sharing CAD models in the product life cycle, which can expedite implementation of ship PLM in domestic shipyards in the near future. Compared to proprietary CAD models, it is easy for lightweight CAD models to be interfaced with various application systems and be connected to manufacturing information. In this paper, the reason why lightweight CAD models are necessary to implement a ship PLM system is addressed and current implementation results are introduced.