On June 29, the 158,000-ton crude oil tanker “SEA AVON” (1589), built by Waigaoqiao Shipbuilding for Norway’s Frontline company, was smoothly signed and delivered. Representatives from Norway’s Frontline, China Shipbuilding Trading Co., Ltd., and Waigaoqiao Shipbuilding attended and witnessed the signing of the delivery.
The “SEA AVON” is classed by the American Bureau of Shipping and independently designed by Waigaoqiao Shipbuilding. Through technological innovations such as hydrodynamic optimization, the vessel meets EEDI Phase III requirements, fully embodying the perfect combination of energy efficiency, safety, and economy.
Since the beginning of the year, Waigaoqiao Shipbuilding has successively achieved 65 key milestones including new vessel start of construction, keel laying, undocking, sea trials, and delivery, maintaining an efficient and orderly production rhythm. In the first half of the year, a total of 14 /1,238,020 deadweight tons were completed and delivered, covering the full spectrum of mainstream vessel types including 7000TEU container ships, 114,000-ton Aframax product tankers, 158,000-ton Suezmax crude oil tankers, 9000-car car carriers, and 10800-car dual-fuel car carriers. The company continuously strengthens completion management, strictly implements the “Four Zeroing” special work, and further improves the integrity of block stages during the construction of each vessel type, laying a solid foundation for shortening the shipbuilding cycle.
Focusing on commercial vessels and offshore engineering, records frequently set across all fronts
In the field of commercial vessels and offshore engineering, records are frequently set across multiple fronts. The 9000-car car carrier series achieved a successful conclusion; the first vessel of the 10800-car LNG dual-fuel car carrier series, “GLOVIS LIGHTHOUSE,” was successfully delivered, marking Waigaoqiao Shipbuilding’s official entry into a new stage of building ten-thousand-car-class car carriers; 7000TEU container ships achieved batch deliveries with increasingly mature construction rhythm, and larger container ships such as 9200TEU, 11000TEU, and 14000TEU have successively started construction, further完善ing the product spectrum. Waigaoqiao Shipbuilding has formed a multi-tiered construction capability from medium to large container ships; tanker products maintain stable output in both main vessel types, Aframax and Suezmax, with batch construction capabilities continuously consolidated; on March 25, the sixth universal Fast4Ward floating production storage and offloading vessel (MPF6) built for the Dutch company SBM OFFSHORE successfully entered the dock, continuously validating the company’s construction capabilities in the high-end offshore engineering equipment field.
Tackling large cruise ships, sea trial passed in one go
In the field of large cruise ships, the second domestically built large cruise ship “Adora Flora City” (H1509) achieved a decisive breakthrough in the first half of the year. On March 20, H1509 successfully undocked and fully transitioned to the dock outfitting and commissioning sprint; it set sail for sea trials on May 16, completing all 149 verification items in one go over 12 days, returning triumphantly on May 27. Compared to the first vessel “Adora Magic City,” which required two separate sea trials totaling 14 days, “Flora City” achieved dual optimization of sea trial duration and organizational efficiency, with 937 engineering and technical personnel from 12 countries working collaboratively, achieving all ship system performance targets in a single attempt.
Improvements in construction efficiency ran throughout the entire process: the hull shell unified painting and graphic work was completed 7 days earlier than the first vessel; air conditioning air volume balance inspection was completed 3 months earlier; main propeller commissioning was shortened by 10 days and achieved fully autonomous commissioning; the issuance milestone for 6,621 background completion certificates was 8 months earlier than the corresponding period for the first vessel. As of the end of sea trials, construction progress had reached 97.8% and commissioning progress 89.8%. Delivery is planned for November 6, 2026, nearly two months ahead of the original schedule, and the maiden voyage will depart from Guangzhou Nansha.
Lean and digital dual drive, management efficiency unleashed
In the first half of 2026, Waigaoqiao Shipbuilding closely adhered to the annual business policy of “Forging independent capabilities for large cruise ships, consolidating core advantages in commercial vessels and offshore engineering,” using digital transformation and lean management as engines to continuously activate endogenous momentum. The processing workshop upgrade and renovation, the start of fabrication for the 2200-ton gantry crane project in Dock No. 2, the intelligent three-dimensional warehouse of the Assembly and Distribution Department being recognized as a Group Lean Demonstration Zone, the establishment and improvement of the Lean Management Office structure, the initial formation of the “Production Command Center+” prototype with large-screen display capabilities, and the accelerated formation of mechanisms for instruction transmission, anomaly closure, and resource coordination and scheduling, all provide guarantees for efficient takt-time production.
With outstanding performance, Waigaoqiao Shipbuilding smoothly achieved “half the time, half the task.” With solid delivery data and densely arranged production milestones, it submitted a substantial “mid-term report card” in the first year of the “15th Five-Year Plan,” writing a vivid footnote for the high-quality development of China’s shipbuilding industry with hardcore strength, and sprinting with full force towards the year-end delivery target!
