Private-owned Chinese shipyards start getting back to work

New Times shipbuilding (002).jpg
Following the work resumption of major state-owned shipyards, some of the private shipbuilding companies in China are starting to resume work after the outbreak of the coronavirus (Covid-19).

As with most businesses in China the country’s shipyards had been closed from the Lunar New Year holidays in late January as the authorities attempted to halt the spread of the coronavirus. Last week saw many of the state-owned shipyards getting back to work, but the major private yards remaining closed.

Seatrade Maritime News contacted several private shipyards in China for the updates of their operational status.

The two major private Chinese shipyards, Yangzijiang Shipbuilding and New Times Shipbuilding have partially resumed normal operations. New Times Shipbuilding undertook sea trial of a newly built  325,000 dwt ore carrier this week.

Jiangsu Hantong Ship Heavy Industry, a major commercial vessel and FPSO builder, and Fujian Mawei Shipbuidling, a leading shipbuilding and ship repair yard based in south China have also returned to work.

Some of the mid-small sized shipyards in Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces, the major private shipyard base of China, are scheduled to resume work from next week. 

The delay in returning to operations after the Chinese New Year holiday are expected to have a negative impact on the country’s shipbuilding market.

The newbuilding delivery volume of China in 2020 is forecast to drop from 75m dwt to 67.5m dwt, a decline of 10%, said Bao Zhangjing, deputy director of China Institute of Marine Technology & Economy.

Read all Seatrade Maritime News coverage on the impact of the coronavirus on shipping