Another bankrupt shipyard has ushered in a new chapter of full resumption and production. With the completion and operation of Qidong New Base established by Nantong Xiangyu Ocean Equipment through the acquisition of the former Jiangsu Hongqiang Heavy Industry, the company’s overall shipbuilding capacity is expected to increase by approximately 50%, injecting strong momentum for its continued efforts in green intelligent vessels and high-end equipment manufacturing.
Construction begins on China’s largest cable-laying vessel! Qidong Xiangyu Ocean Equipment officially commences production
On August 1, Qidong Xiangyu Ocean Equipment Co., Ltd. officially began production, marking another milestone in Xiangyu Ocean Equipment’s capacity, technology, and product upgrades. As the first vessel built by Qidong Xiangyu Ocean Equipment, the internationally advanced 16,000-ton cable-laying vessel commenced construction on the same day, demonstrating Xiangyu Ocean Equipment’s firm resolve to anchor itself in high-end, intelligent, and green development, accelerate the forging of “national heavy equipment,” and serve the construction of a maritime power.
In August 2024, Xiangyu Ocean Equipment acquired the core assets of Jiangsu Hongqiang Heavy Industry through judicial auction and established Qidong Xiangyu Ocean Equipment. Since the asset handover, Qidong Xiangyu Ocean Equipment has fully promoted resumption and production, carried out factory repairs and production line restoration, upgraded equipment intelligently, and effectively revitalized local industrial land, shipbuilding facilities, and employment resources. At the same time, it has efficiently secured high-quality orders, with current orders totaling 16 vessels and annual output value at full capacity expected to exceed 3 billion yuan.
According to Clarkson’s data, Qidong Xiangyu Ocean Equipment’s 16 current orders amount to 963,000 deadweight tons in total, including 14 bulk carriers, 1 cable-laying vessel, and 1 self-propelled deck cargo ship, with delivery schedules extending to 2027.
Qin Guangrong, Standing Committee Member of the Qidong Municipal Party Committee and Executive Vice Mayor, stated that Qidong City continues to strengthen its offshore and shipbuilding industry cluster, polishing the industrial landmark of “For offshore and shipbuilding, come to Qidong.” The commencement of Qidong Xiangyu Ocean Equipment will inject vigorous vitality into the high-quality development of Qidong’s offshore equipment industry. The Qidong Municipal Party Committee and Government will, as always, provide the best services and create the best environment for enterprises, fully supporting Xiangyu’s progress in Qidong.
Deng Qidong, Deputy Party Secretary and President of Xiangyu Group, stated that Xiangyu Group closely follows national strategies, fully supports Xiangyu Ocean Equipment in growing stronger, and aims to build a first-class, world-leading marine equipment manufacturing enterprise. He expressed hope that after commencing production, Qidong Xiangyu Ocean Equipment would achieve new breakthroughs in high-end shipbuilding by leveraging Qidong’s regional and industrial advantages, contributing Xiangyu’s strength to the construction of a “strong, prosperous, beautiful, and advanced” new Qidong and the development of the maritime economy.
Zhu Zhenyu, Deputy Director of Nantong Municipal Bureau of Industry and Information Technology, congratulated Qidong Xiangyu Ocean Equipment on its opening in his speech. He noted that the 16,000-ton cable-laying vessel is a new testament to the high-end, green, and intelligent development of Nantong’s offshore industry and an important project in Nantong’s efforts to build a high-end offshore equipment manufacturing hub. The municipal industrial and information technology departments will, as always, fully support enterprise development, continuously optimize the business environment, provide guidance and services, and support the smooth progress and early completion of the project, contributing Nantong’s strength to the construction of a maritime power.
It is reported that the first vessel constructed by Qidong Xiangyu Ocean Equipment is the 16,000-ton cable-laying vessel ordered by Shanghai Yuanwei Construction Engineering Co., Ltd. of Zhongtian Technology Group in April this year. At the commencement ceremony, leaders from Nantong Municipal Bureau of Industry and Information Technology, China Classification Society, the 708th Research Institute of China State Shipbuilding Corporation, Zhongtian Technology, Xianggang, Nanjing Bank Nantong Branch, and Xiangyu Group jointly pushed the lever to announce the official start of the project.
The vessel is 139.8 meters long and 38 meters wide, independently designed by the 708th Research Institute of China State Shipbuilding Corporation for unlimited navigation areas. It is currently China’s largest self-propelled, pure-electric cable-laying vessel. The vessel is suitable for operations at a maximum water depth of 200 meters, with a single-voyage maximum cable capacity of 16,000 tons. It is equipped with high-end facilities such as a helicopter platform, large coaxial turntable, and dual cable-laying channels, capable of dual-cable laying, deep-water single-hook operations, and cross-border construction.
The cable-laying vessel’s cable load capacity sets a new domestic record and ranks among the top globally, meeting the demand for long-distance, high-capacity submarine cable laying. Equipped with a DP-2 dynamic positioning system and advanced laying equipment, it can perform dual-cable laying, deep-water single-hook operations, and cross-border construction. Once completed, it will effectively boost the growth of Nantong’s cable manufacturing, wind power equipment, and other industries, becoming a key asset in promoting China’s offshore wind power development.
Capacity increases by 50%! Xiangyu Ocean Equipment revitalizes bankrupt shipyard Hongqiang Heavy Industry
It is reported that the establishment of Qidong Xiangyu Ocean Equipment marks Xiangyu Ocean Equipment’s formation of a new competitive and developmental pattern of “three factories and five bases.” According to the plan, the total investment in the Qidong Xiangyu Ocean Equipment project will reach 2 billion yuan, and after production begins, it is expected to further increase Xiangyu Ocean Equipment’s overall shipbuilding capacity by 40-50%.
In August last year, Xiangyu Ocean Equipment successfully acquired the core assets of Jiangsu Hongqiang Shipbuilding Heavy Industry Co., Ltd., the predecessor of Qidong Xiangyu Ocean Equipment, for 440 million yuan. The assets include 56,352.42 square meters of buildings, 1 dock, 3 shipyards of 50,000-100,000 tons, 682.3 meters of Yangtze River shoreline usage rights, related equipment (2,158 sets of machinery and 2,993 sets of electronic equipment), 25 patents, and 13 trademarks.
Hongqiang Heavy Industry was established in 2005, covering an area of approximately 530,000 square meters. It has advanced shipbuilding facilities, including three shipyards (one each of 50,000 tons, 80,000 tons, and 100,000 tons), one outfitting dock, and an 80,000-square-meter workshop. The largest gantry crane has a lifting capacity of 600 tons, enabling the construction of large vessels up to 100,000 tons. The shipyard’s main products include bulk carriers, special engineering vessels, offshore engineering vessels, liquid cargo ships, official vessels, and multi-purpose vessels.
In addition to shipbuilding, Hongqiang Heavy Industry also has facilities and capabilities for steel structure manufacturing, with an annual production capacity of 160,000 tons. Since 2016, the shipyard has expanded its business to customized steel structure manufacturing.
In October 2017, Titan Petrochemical Group invested 210 million yuan to acquire Hongqiang Heavy Industry, one of the shipyards Titan Petrochemical acquired to build an internationally first-class ship and offshore engineering repair and construction group. However, the good times did not last long, as Titan Petrochemical soon ceased financial support to Hongqiang Heavy Industry, plunging it into difficulties again.
In January 2023, the Qidong People’s Court ruled that Hongqiang Heavy Industry enter bankruptcy liquidation and appointed the Hongqiang Heavy Industry liquidation team as the administrator. After investigation, the administrator concluded that Hongqiang Heavy Industry had high-quality assets such as 682.3 meters of Yangtze River shoreline usage rights, shipyards, gantry cranes, and equipment, as well as ship and steel structure bridge manufacturing capabilities, with factories and equipment in normal use, making reorganization possible. In June of the same year, Hongqiang Heavy Industry sought bankruptcy reorganization investors.
In October 2023, the Qidong People’s Court ruled on the reorganization of Hongqiang Heavy Industry based on the application of Titan Enterprise Management Consulting (Shanghai) Co., Ltd. However, as the reorganization plan failed to pass the vote, the court ruled in April this year to terminate the reorganization process and declare Hongqiang Heavy Industry bankrupt.
With the addition of Hongqiang Heavy Industry, Xiangyu Ocean Equipment has opened a new construction base, further optimizing resource coordination and capacity utilization across production bases, effectively consolidating and leveraging its leading advantages in bulk carriers and stainless steel chemical tankers.
It is reported that Xiangyu Ocean Equipment was jointly established by Xiangyu Shares, Tongbao Shipbuilding, and China Shipping Heavy Industry in December 2016, with registered capital of 200 million yuan. In January 2017, Xiangyu Ocean Equipment acquired all assets of Nantong Mingde Heavy Industry through online judicial auction for 576 million yuan, becoming the “new owner” of Mingde Heavy Industry. On May 11 of the same year, Xiangyu Ocean Equipment was officially inaugurated and began production.
Currently, Xiangyu Ocean Equipment mainly focuses on environmentally friendly and energy-efficient series of bulk carriers, oil tankers, and container ships below 100,000 tons, small and medium-sized stainless steel/special-coated chemical tankers, and other engineering vessels. As of December 2024, Xiangyu Ocean Equipment has received a total of 197 orders since its establishment, with 108 delivered and 89 orders in hand exceeding 5 million deadweight tons.
On the day of Qidong Xiangyu Ocean Equipment’s commencement, Xiangyu Ocean Equipment also signed an agreement with Wuhan University of Technology to jointly establish a Green Intelligent Shipbuilding and New Energy Technology Innovation Joint R&D Center, committed to building an innovation demonstration platform integrating industry, academia, and research, further promoting the green, digital, and intelligent transformation of the shipbuilding industry and the application of new energy technologies.
In the future, Xiangyu Ocean Equipment will continue to promote technological and industrial innovation, accelerate the development of new productive forces, and contribute solid strength to local economic prosperity, high-end equipment manufacturing upgrades, and the construction of a maritime power.
