A $1.7 billion order for 4 ships! Haidong Shipyard: That familiar feeling is back.

On the afternoon of February 10, a supplementary signing ceremony was held between the state-owned Haidong Shipyard and the Greek Akron Group for the construction contract of four 80,000-ton oil tankers. This marks the eighth collaboration between the state-owned Haidong Shipyard and the Greek Akron Group, following the signing of a contract for 2,000-ton oil tankers last year.

It is understood that the state-owned Haidong Shipyard had previously signed a letter of intent with Greek shipowners for four 80,000-ton electric-powered oil and chemical tankers, with a total order value of 1.7 billion yuan, equivalent to 425 million yuan (approximately US\$62.25 million) per vessel. This is the largest tonnage and highest single-vessel value project ever received by the Taizhou shipyard.

The cooperation between the Greek Akron Group and the state-owned Haidong Shipyard began in 2002, with the first order being four 4,990-ton oil tankers. As it was the shipyard's first time building export oil tankers, the process involved challenges such as the Yunna typhoon in 2004, differing construction standards, repeated revisions of drawings, and rising raw material prices. However, through the joint efforts of the shipowner and the shipyard, various difficulties were overcome, and the construction tasks were completed with high quality. This batch of CCS-classed oil tankers were later successfully classed by Lloyd's Register of Shipping in the UK, leaving a deep impression on the Greek shipowner.

Akron Group's second order was for six 10,000-ton oil tankers and six 5,500-ton oil tankers. Based on trust in the shipyard, Akron Group proposed signing the contract directly with the shipyard without requiring a letter of guarantee from the shipyard, which was unprecedented in international shipbuilding contracts. Later, during the construction process, raw material prices rose sharply again. Through friendly consultations, based on the principle of mutual benefit, the contract price was adjusted, laying the foundation for the development of Haidong Shipyard for a period of time.

After the overall relocation of Haidong Shipyard, Akron Group, based on the actual expansion of the company's construction capacity, signed another contract for the construction of two 16,500-ton oil tankers, which were the largest tonnage oil tankers undertaken by Haidong Shipyard at that time.

This series of 80,000-ton oil tankers is the largest tonnage export oil tanker order in Taizhou's shipbuilding industry to date, and also the highest export value oil tanker order. It is also the first oil tanker designed by Akron Group based on the shipyard's existing shipyards after inspecting Haidong Shipyard's construction capabilities and equipment. The ship type has an overall length of 249.9 meters, a width of 50 meters, a depth of 18.2 meters, a maximum design draft of 9.5 meters, and is equipped with four 3310KW main engines. Its speed is no less than 12.5 nautical miles per hour. According to the plan, all deliveries of this order will be completed within 3 to 4 years.

On the morning of February 11, the day after the two sides signed the formal contract, the 2,000-ton oil tanker "TEVEL," built by the state-owned Haidong Shipyard, was successfully delivered and set off on its journey to the UAE.

It is understood that the "TEVEL" is the fifth 2,000-ton oil tanker built by Haidong Shipyard for the Greek Akron Group. The ship has an overall length of 80 meters, a width of 13.60 meters, a depth of 6.20 meters, a design draft of 4.30 meters, a speed of 11.7 knots, twin engines and twin propellers, and is a shallow-draft ship type. This ship represents another collaboration between the Greek Akron Group and the state-owned Haidong Shipyard. It is understood that the Greek Akron Group operates petroleum product transportation, supply, and ship management businesses on the east coast of the UAE and is the second-largest offshore refueling company in the area.

        As one of the oldest and one of the few remaining state-owned enterprises in Zhejiang Province's shipbuilding industry, the state-owned Haidong Shipyard enjoys a good reputation both in society and in the industry, having built and repaired a large number of ships over the years. In the past ten years or so, the state-owned Haidong Shipyard has been oriented towards the international market, following modern shipbuilding models, and committed to building oil tankers/chemical tankers with high added value and high technical content. It has built hundreds of oil and chemical tankers, container ships, bulk carriers, and engineering ships for domestic and foreign shipowners, and the quality of its products has been consistently praised by shipowners and classification societies.

In 2014, the state-owned Haidong Shipyard achieved transformation and upgrading and expanded its production scale by acquiring two privately-owned shipbuilding enterprises, significantly improving its shipbuilding capacity. In 2015, the state-owned Haidong Shipyard successfully delivered and exported to Greece a 2,000-ton oil tanker independently developed and built with DP2 technology, filling the gap in the domestic oil tanker construction field equipped with dynamic positioning technology, and marking a new stage in the construction level and R\&D capabilities of the state-owned Haidong Shipyard.

Taizhou is the second-largest shipbuilding base in Zhejiang Province, with sufficient and complete industrial chain advantages. However, after the 2008 financial crisis, Taizhou's shipbuilding industry fell into a slump. However, in recent years, with the recovery of the shipping market, Taizhou's shipbuilding industry has begun to emerge from the slump, with a shipbuilding output value of 654,000 deadweight tons in 2022.

At present, the warming international market has also released new demand signals. Recently, Taizhou shipbuilders have been signing new international orders. With the green development of the port industry, the types of ships held by Taizhou shipbuilders have undergone major changes. The number of traditional cargo ships built has been significantly reduced, replaced by technological, intelligent, multi-purpose, and digital special ships.
 
Receiving orders for four 80,000-ton oil tankers and delivering the "TEVEL"! "A long-awaited feeling!" exclaimed Li Yanggang, Party Secretary and Factory Director of the state-owned Haidong Shipyard, excitedly.