Zhenghe Shipbuilding stops production, ends restructuring hope

The financially-shaken Chinese yard has informed its workers that production will stop as of 1 September, local media reported.

Reports said that up to a thousand yard workers were owed several months of salaries by Zhenghe, despite the company repeatedly promising to pay its employees.

The yard workers will lodge a complain to the local authorities.

In May, Zhenghe updated that it continued to seek a restructuring process after making the application to Dinghai Zhoushan Intermediate People’s Court in March.

It had then said it will gradually resume its production and maintain its workforce, as it aimed to complete a restructuring plan by October this year.

Zhenghe, which commenced operations in 2007, had delivered 15 ships within a year at its peak, and employed more than 4,000 people. The specialist builder of bulk carriers also attained the ‘white list’ yard status in September 2014, where the listed yards are poised to benefit from prioritused financial support from the local banks.