8 vessels for 1.5 billion yuan! This "new shipyard" receives its first Chinese order from a European ship owner.

In just over a month, it has won orders for a total of 18 new vessels from three overseas shipowners, with a total order value exceeding 2.6 billion yuan. Now, Xinjiangzhou Shipbuilding Heavy Industry—a "new shipyard" that recently celebrated its first anniversary—has received its first methanol dual-fuel vessel order, officially entering the new energy vessel market.

Shipowner places first-ever order in China; XinJiangzhou Shipbuilding Heavy Industry wins order for 8 methanol dual-fuel vessels

On April 23, Jiangxi XinJiangzhou Shipbuilding Heavy Industry Co., Ltd. reached a long-term strategic cooperation agreement with Danish shipowner M.H. SIMONSEN APS in Xia Chao Lake, Ruichang City, successfully undertaking the construction project of 8 6800-ton duplex stainless steel electric-propulsion methanol dual-fuel chemical tankers. The total order value is 1.5 billion yuan.

The signing of this shipbuilding project has created five firsts in Jiangxi's shipbuilding industry: the largest single shipbuilding export order; the first methanol dual-fuel vessel order; the largest duplex stainless steel shipbuilding base; the first electric-propulsion international cargo vessel; and the first shipyard to achieve a grand slam of international mainstream classification societies DNV/BV/ABS/LR/CCS.

Xinjiangzhou Shipbuilding Heavy Industry General Manager Wu Qiuping and SIMONSEN General Manager LARS EJVIND HJORTH SIMONSEN signed the contract. Xinjiangzhou Shipbuilding Heavy Industry Assistant General Manager Huang Fangwu, SIMONSEN Quality Manager HANS HJORTH SIMONSEN, and other personnel attended the signing ceremony.

The vessel type in this cooperation is an IMO II chemical tanker, equipped with 14 duplex stainless steel cargo holds. It features wide cargo loading capacity, strong navigability, environmental friendliness, reduced crew, intelligent operation, and vibration and noise reduction. It is powered by three synchronous generator sets with DC power distribution systems, and a power propulsion unit equipped with two DC low-speed permanent magnet (PM) motors drives a fixed-pitch propeller. A pair of methanol fuel tanks provide methanol fuel for the generators. A newly added independent full-ship energy storage unit ensures safe navigation even in the event of a complete ship power failure. The ship's design concept applies the DC power distribution and low-speed permanent magnet motor direct-drive high-efficiency fixed-pitch propeller propulsion method to small and medium-sized stainless steel chemical tankers, achieving a new breakthrough in the application of new energy in ships. The cooperative design company for this vessel type is Shanghai Hanshun.

Vessel rendering

This project marks the first time in nearly a century that SIMONSEN has placed an order for shipbuilding in China. It is understood that SIMONSEN, founded in 1931 by Martin Hjorth Simonsen, is a family-owned shipping company that self-manages all its vessels. The shipowner stated that it will continue to optimize its fleet strategy, increasing self-managed vessels to meet industry transportation needs. After an initial visit to XinJiangzhou Shipbuilding Heavy Industry to conduct an on-site inspection of the shipyard's equipment and facilities, and to discuss construction techniques and design concepts, SIMONSEN believed that XinJiangzhou Shipbuilding Heavy Industry's fully indoor production process, management's understanding of shipbuilding, and the shareholders' influence in the industry were conditions that other similar shipyards did not possess, making it the ideal choice for the shipbuilding project. Just 13 days after the initial visit, the construction contract was successfully signed with XinJiangzhou Shipbuilding Heavy Industry.

Once Jiangxi's largest shipyard, XinJiangzhou Shipbuilding Heavy Industry receives over 2.6 billion yuan in orders within half a year of production

It is understood that Jiangxi XinJiangzhou Shipbuilding Heavy Industry Co., Ltd. was established on March 31, 2023, with a registered capital of 50 million RMB.

The predecessor of XinJiangzhou Shipbuilding Heavy Industry—Jiangxi Jiangzhou United Shipbuilding Co., Ltd.—was reformed from the state-owned Jiangzhou Shipyard (6214 Factory), established in 1969. 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, with over 7,000 employees at its peak.

XinJiangzhou Shipbuilding Heavy Industry focuses on the small and medium-sized shipbuilding market, emphasizing new construction business for 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.

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

On March 19 this year, XinJiangzhou Shipbuilding Heavy Industry received an order for 4 135-meter duplex stainless steel chemical tankers from the Dutch shipowner MERCURIUS SHIPBUILDING B.V. This was not only the first overseas order received by XinJiangzhou Shipbuilding Heavy Industry since its establishment, but also marked the shipyard's return to the European high-end chemical tanker market.

On March 31, coinciding with its first anniversary, XinJiangzhou Shipbuilding Heavy Industry signed a contract with German shipowner Candler Schiffahrt for the construction of 6 12,000-ton multi-purpose vessels. This project also marked the first time Candler Schiffahrt has built new vessels in China.

Regarding the latest orders, XinJiangzhou Shipbuilding Heavy Industry pointed out that the company adheres to the business principle of "focusing on liquid cargo, cultivating multi-purpose vessels, expanding new energy and small offshore engineering," and upholds the vision of "building specialized and high-quality vessels, and creating a special and excellent shipyard." Relying on the strength of its two major shareholders, it has won the favor of major European shipowners, making a strong comeback to the European stage, achieving three breakthroughs in orders within two months, and signing a bulk order for new energy duplex stainless steel chemical tankers. The vessel meets the International Maritime Organization's low-carbon emission requirements, is equipped with a methanol dual-fuel system, DC busbar, energy consumption control, energy storage batteries, and energy efficiency management system, achieving new breakthroughs in the practical application of various green technologies.

Data shows that XinJiangzhou Shipbuilding Heavy Industry currently has orders for over 20 international high-end shipbuilding projects, with a total value exceeding 2.6 billion yuan, including chemical tankers, multi-purpose heavy-lift vessels, and new energy vessels.