Hudong-Zhonghua Shipbuilding of China is carrying out a major upgrade of production capacity as demand for new vessels continues to underpin a buoyant global shipbuilding market.
The shipyard is implementing a long term capacity optimization and augmentation program with the objective to eliminate manufacturing bottlenecks, optimize the manufacturing footprint and improve the infrastructure supporting its marine equipment business.
The project is intended to unlock additional production capacities, to make manufacturing processes at the shipyard more efficient and better adapted for the building of increasingly complex ships.
Target high-end ships
A major element of the program will be the creation of new specialized final assembly lines and the facilities to support them.
Hudong-Zhonghua chairman Chen Jianliang said the upgraded facilities will focus on enhancing the shipyard’s capacity to build high-end vessels on a wider scale and with more use of intelligent manufacturing technologies.
The main targets are large LNG carriers and ultra-large container ships, two categories of vessels that require advanced engineering capabilities and highly specialized production processes.
The investment underscores the growing significance of these vessels in China’s shipbuilding industry, and the country’s wider ambition to enhance its position in high-value marine manufacturing.
Building China’s shipbuilding capacity
Hu Xianfu, deputy general manager of China State Shipbuilding Corporation (CSSC), underlined the strategic significance of the shipbuilding industry to China’s industrial and maritime strength.
Large LNG carriers and ultra-large container ships are viewed as important benchmarks of a shipbuilding industry’s technological expertise due to their size, complexity and high added value.
So for Hudong-Zhonghua, the expansion in production isn’t just about building more ships. The yard also intends to improve manufacturing efficiency and strengthen its competitiveness in the high-end segment of the international newbuilding market.
The shipyard aims to improve its capacity for the mass and smart construction of advanced vessels with the new facilities and production lines, leading to further growth as the global demand for LNG carriers and large container ships grows.
