Shifting tides in global maritime sector float Chinese shipyard’s outlook
Formerly moribund facility on Yangtze River fills order book as shipowners favour small and medium-sized container vessels
A shipyard in China that halted construction of new vessels eight years ago is staging a full comeback this year as global demand shifts towards small and medium-sized tonnage over ultra-large container ships.
Founded in the 1950s, Qingshan Shipyard, located on the Yangtze River in Wuhan in the central province of Hubei, was once a leading domestic manufacturer of chemical tankers. It now falls under the umbrella of China Merchants Group, a major Hong Kong-based conglomerate.
The yard has reshaped its business portfolio to specialise in small and medium-sized, high-value-added vessels, according to a Tuesday report by China Water Transport News, a publication under the Ministry of Transport.
According to the report, the shipyard had secured contracts for more than 20 vessels worth a combined 4.7 billion yuan (US$697 million) as of the end of July. An additional 6 billion yuan in tentative orders remained pending. The bulk of the bookings were for container ships with a capacity of 1,800 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs).
The small and medium classification for container ships generally refers to vessels below 8,000 TEUs deployed for regional feeder shipping services.
Qingshan Shipyard’s strategic transformation has timed the market perfectly.