China coming up with a list of credible offshore shipyards

The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology released new offshore shipyard guidelines last week, outlining several pointers on the requirements for offshore shipyards.

In the conventional shipbuilding sector, a so-called ‘white list’ of 60 shipbuilders have already been announced, and they are expected to benefit from prioritised financial support from the local banks.

The Ministry’s statement said the government is currently working on coming up with the list of offshore shipyards that can expect to receive policy support, and welcomes the relevant companies to submit their applications.

The key focus of the new offshore shipyard guideline is to encourage the offshore yards to establish their own inhouse design team, make progress on technological innovation and improve on project management.

One of the points mentioned in the statement is a need for each offshore yard to make an annual investment at least 2% of their yearly revenue into design and technology.

Chinese offshore yards are known to be lagging behind their western counterparts due mainly to the former’s poorer quality in terms of design and finishings.