Four more ships added! This "new shipyard" returns to the European high-end market

Following 10 orders from domestic ship owners in November last year, Xinjiangzhou Shipbuilding Heavy Industry has won its first overseas order. Less than half a year after its launch, the former "largest shipyard in Jiangxi" is returning to the European high-end chemical tanker market.

First overseas order! Xinjiangzhou Shipbuilding Heavy Industry wins order for 4 stainless steel chemical tankers from a Dutch ship owner

On March 19, Xinjiangzhou Shipbuilding Heavy Industry Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Xinjiangzhou Shipbuilding") and the Dutch ship owner MERCURIUS SHIPBUILDING B.V. (hereinafter referred to as "MERCURIUS") held a signing ceremony for four 135-meter duplex stainless steel chemical tankers.

Wu Qiu Ping, general manager of Xinjiangzhou Shipbuilding Heavy Industry, and Robert-Jan, CEO of MERCURIUS, signed the contract on behalf of both parties. Rui Xiaosong, chief engineer of Xinjiangzhou Shipbuilding Heavy Industry, Huang Fangwu, assistant general manager, employee representatives, and Sjaak Oudakker from MERCURIUS witnessed the signing ceremony.

The vessel is classed by Lloyd's Register (LR) and is a special vessel with high technology content, high added value, and broad market prospects. It can meet the special requirements of corrosion resistance and high strength of cargo hold materials. It can carry a variety of liquid cargoes, including chemicals and petrochemical products.

This order marks the return of Xinjiangzhou Shipbuilding Heavy Industry to the European high-end chemical tanker market. In the process of undertaking this project, Xinjiangzhou Shipbuilding Heavy Industry has continuously cultivated the market, seized opportunities, grasped the key needs of customers, and gained high recognition and trust from customers, successfully undertaking this project.

According to the introduction, the ship owner, MERCURIUS, founded in 1983, is a Dutch family business active in the European inland waterway logistics field, with intensive investment in stainless steel chemical tankers. Robert-Jan said that through two visits to Xinjiangzhou Shipbuilding Heavy Industry for on-site inspections, and close discussions and exchanges between the two parties, a high degree of trust based on mutual understanding has been established with Xinjiangzhou Shipbuilding Heavy Industry. Sjaak Oudakker said that he will lead the on-site team to fully support the shipyard, build high-quality vessels that lead the industry, and develop a long-term strategic cooperation with Xinjiangzhou Shipbuilding Heavy Industry.

Xinjiangzhou Shipbuilding Heavy Industry will rely on the strength of its shareholders, Yangtze River Financial Holdings and Qin Shi Group, and its successful experience in delivering 15 16,500-ton IMO Type II chemical tankers exported to Germany, focusing on the business strategy of high-end chemical tanker construction and actively expanding its customer base at home and abroad. Including the latest order, Xinjiangzhou Shipbuilding Heavy Industry has now won a total of 10 orders for stainless steel chemical tankers.

It is understood that Jiangxi Xinjiangzhou Shipbuilding Heavy Industry Co., Ltd., established on March 31, 2023, has a registered capital of 50 million RMB. Its main businesses cover steel ship manufacturing, aluminum alloy tourist ship manufacturing, official ship manufacturing, bridge steel structure manufacturing, ship repair, and ship dismantling. It focuses on the small and medium-sized ship market, focusing on the new construction business of liquefied gas carriers, feeder container/bulk carriers, and multi-purpose heavy-lift vessels.

The investors of Xinjiangzhou Shipbuilding Heavy Industry are Qin Shi Group Co., Ltd. and Jiangsu Yangzhou Ship Investment and Development Co., Ltd. Qin Shi Group Co., Ltd. is the controlling parent company of the listed company Tianhai Fusion Defense Equipment Technology Co., Ltd., and Jiangsu Yangzhou Ship Investment and Development Co., Ltd. is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Yangtze River Shipbuilding Group.

Xinjiangzhou Shipbuilding Heavy Industry Co., Ltd. has complete basic production facilities, with Class I and Class II shipbuilding and Class I and Class III ship repair qualifications, as well as China Classification Society's four-system management certification. There is a fitting-out wharf about 750 meters long inside Chaohu Lake, and a simple wharf extending into the lake about 400 meters long. There is a 360-meter-long fitting-out wharf on the Yangtze River bank, and a floating dock with a lifting capacity of 6500 tons. The factory covers an area of about 1560 mu, with an indoor ship platform 168 meters long, 36 meters wide, and 25.8 meters high, with an area of 6720 square meters; two outdoor ship platforms 250 meters long, 37 meters wide, and 40 meters high, with areas of 14625 square meters and 10868 square meters respectively; the maximum lifting capacity of the gantry crane is 300 tons; and a standard PSPC painting workshop with an area of 7000 square meters. Other types of shipbuilding facilities and equipment in the factory area are constantly being upgraded and improved.

Once the largest shipyard in Jiangxi Province, Xinjiangzhou Shipbuilding Heavy Industry officially resumed operations last year.

It is understood that the predecessor of Xinjiangzhou Shipbuilding Heavy Industry—Jiangxi Jiangzhou United Shipbuilding Co., Ltd.—was reformed from the state-owned old factory Jiangzhou Shipyard (Factory 6214), established in 1969, and became a subsidiary of China Shipbuilding Industry Corporation. The state-owned Jiangzhou Shipyard was one of the key projects of the country's "Third-Line Construction" in the 1970s and was the largest shipbuilding enterprise in Jiangxi Province, with more than 7,000 employees at its peak.

Since its commissioning in 1971, Jiangzhou Shipyard has successfully built more than 200 ships. In 1992, it was the first among many small and medium-sized shipyards in China to undertake the construction contract for the export of 230TEU container ships, and successfully delivered them to the ship owner on schedule, pioneering the construction of export ships by small and medium-sized shipyards in China. Since 2004, the company has developed 16,500-ton chemical tankers, 12,000-ton heavy-lift vessels, and 12,000-ton multi-purpose vessels based on its prediction of the shipbuilding market and its own technological advantages, which have become its main ship types.

In 2005, after the policy-based bankruptcy of Jiangzhou Shipyard, it was reorganized into a private joint-stock enterprise and renamed Jiangxi Jiangzhou United Shipbuilding Co., Ltd. In 2008, Jiangzhou United Shipbuilding became a wholly-owned subsidiary of "COSCO Shipbuilding Heavy Industry Group Co., Ltd." (formerly Hecheng International Group Co., Ltd.), a company listed on the Hong Kong Main Board.

In the past few years, due to the continuous difficulties faced by Jiangzhou United Shipbuilding, COSCO Shipbuilding has been seeking opportunities to integrate Jiangzhou United Shipbuilding's business. In March 2018, COSCO Shipbuilding, the Ruichang Municipal Government, and Yangtze River Shipbuilding signed a cooperation framework agreement on possible cooperation matters. Shortly afterwards, COSCO Shipbuilding, Yangtze River Shipbuilding, and Xingda Mining signed a memorandum of understanding to promote the possible cooperation under the cooperation framework agreement. According to the memorandum, the parties will establish a joint venture shipbuilding company in Ruichang City, leasing relevant production sites and facilities from Jiangzhou United Shipbuilding to develop its shipbuilding business, with an annual output of 4 to 6 20,000-ton vessels. The joint venture shipbuilding company will be managed by Yangtze River Shipbuilding Group.

In October 2018, COSCO Shipbuilding announced the sale of Jiangzhou United Shipbuilding assets to Ruichang Ruilian Asset Management Co., Ltd. for 100 million yuan. This included several plots of land, production workshops, wharves, and properties held by Jiangzhou United Shipbuilding in Ruichang, all of which had been mortgaged to the bank. Jiangzhou United Shipbuilding, as the lessee, signed a lease agreement with Ruilian Asset Management Co., Ltd. for the relevant assets, for a period of 5 years from October 15, 2018, with an annual rent of 4.35 million RMB.

In August 2022, the Ruichang Municipal People's Government signed a 10 billion yuan agreement with Yangtze River Financial Holdings Group and Jiangsu Zhenqiu Group for a high-end shipbuilding equipment manufacturing and green building materials project. This is a key investment attraction project for Ruichang in 2023. Xinjiangzhou Shipbuilding Heavy Industry, as the main undertaker of the high-end shipbuilding project, took over the main production factors of the former Jiangxi Jiangzhou United Shipbuilding Co., Ltd. from Ruilian Asset Management Company.

On November 30, 2023, the brand-new Xinjiangzhou Shipbuilding Heavy Industry held a grand opening ceremony, marking the entry into a new era of shipbuilding with full order acceptance. At the ceremony, Xinjiangzhou Shipbuilding Heavy Industry received orders for 10 new ships, including 2+2 8300-ton shallow-draft sea-river combined transport international shipping bulk carriers ordered by Yangtze River Financial Holdings, 2+2 13800-ton duplex stainless steel chemical tankers ordered by Alita (Shanghai) International Shipping Co., Ltd., and 2 3940-ton stainless steel chemical tankers ordered by Jiangxi Donggang Shipping Co., Ltd..

In future development, Xinjiangzhou Shipbuilding Heavy Industry will implement modern enterprise management according to the model of a listed company, cooperate with Tianhai Defense, Yangtze River Shipbuilding Group, and others in multiple ways, vigorously expand its business scope, increase investment in scientific research, and strive to build and deliver various types of new and high-quality ships for customers from different countries.