Name change and transformation! Zengzhou Shipbuilding may withdraw from the shipbuilding industry

Another Zhoushan shipbuilding star enterprise, Zengzhou Shipbuilding, is about to gradually withdraw from the shipbuilding industry. Due to a long-term lack of orders, it attempted to "sell" itself to a state-owned shipbuilding enterprise but ultimately failed. At the end of last year, Zengzhou Shipbuilding officially changed its name to Zengzhou Heavy Industry Technology, and will transition from shipbuilding to bridge construction in the future.

Zengzhou Shipbuilding Officially Changes Name to Zengzhou Heavy Industry Technology and Changes Business Scope

It is understood that, starting December 26, 2019, Zhejiang Zengzhou Shipbuilding Co., Ltd. changed its name to Zhejiang Zengzhou Heavy Industry Technology Co., Ltd., with its industry category changing from metal shipbuilding to engineering and technological research and development. The business scope has been changed to: R&D of ocean engineering equipment; construction of railway, road, tunnel, and bridge projects; ship design; ship manufacturing and repair; manufacturing, processing, and sales of ship parts; import and export trade of goods and technology; general cargo warehousing; sales of metal materials, electromechanical equipment, pipelines, and water-based coatings; anti-corrosion engineering, insulation engineering, and painting engineering; design, manufacture, and installation of metal structures; housing rental.

It is understood that Zengzhou Shipbuilding is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Zengzhou Group, established on August 20, 2007. It is one of Zhoushan's key projects in the introduction of large-scale shipbuilding and repair industries, and is a shipbuilding and repair enterprise established in accordance with the requirements of a modern enterprise system and operating with a modern shipbuilding model.

Similar to most shipyards in Zhoushan, after 2011, Zengzhou Shipbuilding also faced difficulties in receiving orders, financing, and mortgages. Against this backdrop, Zengzhou Shipbuilding actively aligned itself with national strategies and developed new ship products as a strategic breakthrough, charting a course with a product structure primarily focused on building special-purpose engineering vessels, supplemented by other energy-efficient and environmentally friendly bulk carriers.

"Jiang Hai Zhi Da 1"

In 2013, Zengzhou Shipbuilding built China's first domestically developed and built ultra-low temperature refrigerated transport vessel, filling a gap in this type of vessel in China. In 2015, Zengzhou Shipbuilding delivered two 6,000 cubic meter trailing suction hopper dredgers suitable for the high-temperature, high-corrosion environment of Iraq, receiving high praise and recognition from the Iraqi Ministry of Transport; in the same year, Zengzhou Shipbuilding also delivered two ice-class strengthened 64,000 DWT bulk carriers built for the Canadian shipowner CANFORNAV, the first ice-class strengthened vessel in the 64,000 DWT series of bulk carriers in China. In March 2018, Zengzhou Shipbuilding delivered China's first 20,000-ton river-sea direct vessel, the "Jiang Hai Zhi Da 1".

        Affected by the epidemic, Zengzhou Heavy Industry Technology currently has more than 500 workers on site, producing more than 500 tons of steel beams per day. These steel beams will be transported to Taizhou after a series of processes for use in bridge construction projects.

No Orders for Two Years, Attempted Merger with Wuhan Shipbuilding but Failed

Although Zengzhou Shipbuilding has achieved remarkable results in building special vessels, the lack of new orders remains a major problem for Zengzhou Shipbuilding. In the past two years, Zengzhou Shipbuilding has not received a single order.

                     Image: In December 2018, a 5000DWT open-top environmentally friendly multi-purpose vessel was successfully delivered by Zhejiang Zengzhou Shipbuilding.

Clarkson's data shows that Zengzhou Shipbuilding currently only has four 7350 DWT general cargo vessels on hand. These four vessels were ordered by the German shipowner Tom Worden Schiffs on January 23, 2018, with delivery times set for March, June, September, and December of this year.

This order for general cargo vessels from the German shipowner is also the last new vessel order received by Zengzhou Shipbuilding. Before this order, Zengzhou Shipbuilding's previous order can be traced back to March 2017, when Zengzhou Shipbuilding successfully won the bid for China's first 20,000-ton river-sea direct vessel, which was the only order Zengzhou Shipbuilding received in 2017. In 2016, Zengzhou Shipbuilding received an order for four multi-purpose vessels from Briese Schiffahrts. In 2015, Zengzhou Shipbuilding received zero orders.

Due to the long-term difficulty in obtaining new vessel orders, Zengzhou Shipbuilding began to shift towards the production of steel structural components and sought cooperation with Wuhan Shipbuilding Group, a subsidiary of CSSC.

The cooperation between Zengzhou Shipbuilding and Wuhan Shipbuilding Group received strong support from the Zhoushan Municipal Government. On August 9, 2016, the Zhoushan Municipal Government and CSSC Group signed a strategic cooperation agreement on "Smart Ocean," jointly creating the Zhoushan Demonstration Zone for National Smart Ocean and building the China (Zhoushan) Smart Ocean Industry Base. Following this, the two sides conducted a series of interactive exchanges and actively planned and promoted cooperation.

According to the original plan of the Zhoushan Municipal Government, after Wuhan Shipbuilding Group and Zengzhou cooperated to establish Wuhan Zengzhou Company, the new company would continue to carry out shipbuilding business and focus on expanding new businesses such as steel structures. The Zhoushan Municipal Government also suggested that the Zhejiang Provincial Government and relevant provincial departments provide recommended support in the construction of major projects such as bridges. However, the merger and reorganization of Wuhan Shipbuilding Group and Zengzhou Shipbuilding were ultimately not completed.