After a seven-year hiatus from the shipbuilding industry, Liang Xiaolei, once known as China’s “Ship King,” has officially made his comeback to the market.
According to TradeWinds, Liang Xiaolei, through his Singapore-based company Sinopacific Engineering Contracting Co., Ltd (SPEC), partnered with CDB Financial Leasing to order eight platform supply vessels (PSVs) from Nantong Rainbow Offshore Engineering Equipment Co., Ltd and Nantong CIMC Sinopacific Offshore & Engineering Co., Ltd.
Currently, Liang holds a minority stake in these eight PSVs. Recently, CIMC Sinopacific Offshore & Engineering and Rainbow Offshore held launching ceremonies for their respective first-in-series vessels, S1095 and N1053, which are expected to be delivered within this year.
It is reported that CDB Financial Leasing announced earlier this year the signing of contracts with CIMC Sinopacific Offshore & Engineering and Nantong Rainbow Offshore for the construction of four offshore support vessels (OSVs) each, priced at $30 million per vessel, totaling approximately $240 million (around RMB 1.72 billion). The new vessels are scheduled for delivery between 2025 and 2026.
These mark the first newbuild OSVs in CDB Financial Leasing’s fleet, which previously had no offshore vessel assets. According to annual report data, as of December 31, 2024, CDB Financial Leasing operated a total of 253 vessels, including 173 bulk carriers, 47 product tankers, 13 container ships, 18 LNG carriers, and two passenger cruise ships. Additionally, the group has eight vessels under construction, comprising six bulk carriers and two product tankers.
The SPP40 platform supply vessels ordered by CDB Financial Leasing measure 81.75 meters in length, 17.40 meters in beam, and 7.8 meters in depth, with a maximum draft of 6.3 meters, a deadweight tonnage of 4,000 tons, and a design speed of 13 knots. The vessels feature electric propulsion, with two tunnel thrusters at the bow and two azimuth thrusters at the stern. They incorporate technologies such as containerized lithium iron phosphate battery systems and fuel monitoring systems, making them a new generation of environmentally friendly PSVs tailored to international market demands.
Classed by Bureau Veritas, these vessels are equipped with DP2 and a swappable containerized battery power system, marking the first Bureau Veritas-classed vessels with such a system. The battery enables zero-emission operations in emission control or ecological protection zones and helps balance power loads during dynamic positioning (DP) operations, significantly reducing fuel consumption and pollution.
At the launching ceremony of the first vessel, Liang Xiaolei expressed his gratitude to attendees and employees: “I am deeply honored by the support we’ve received over the past 18 months. SPEC is a newly established platform, and I never expected such widespread backing.”
Born in 1963 in Taizhou, Zhejiang, Liang Xiaolei studied international trade in France. In October 1995, he and his father, Liang Guangfu, founded Linhai Chunhe Crafts Co., Ltd., which began exporting holiday lights the following year. The Liang family later expanded into producing electrical tools, travel goods, and other light industrial products. In 1998, they entered the retail sector, opening the first “Home World” supermarket in Taizhou. Two years later, the Chunhe Group was established to oversee the family’s diverse businesses.
With a keen eye for global shipbuilding and shipping market trends, Liang Xiaolei entered the shipbuilding industry in March 2003 by acquiring Zhejiang Shipyard, a state-owned shipbuilder in Ningbo, renaming it Zhejiang Shipbuilding Co., Ltd. In November that year, Chunhe Group and France’s Bourbon invested $74.8 million to establish Pacific Heavy Industries Ltd. in Shanghai. Its subsidiary, Jiangsu Pacific Shipbuilding Group, later acquired Binjiang Shipyard from Jiangyang Group for RMB 139 million. Liang subsequently merged Jiangdu Shipyard into his portfolio.
From 2006 onward, Liang ventured into offshore engineering, with Chunhe Group rapidly expanding into oil and gas exploration support services. Despite the post-financial crisis downturn in global shipbuilding, Chunhe Group secured a $1 billion OSV order in 2010—the largest in China at the time. Between 2008 and 2011, the group reported net profits of RMB 1.05 billion, RMB 750 million, RMB 1.35 billion, and RMB 604 million, respectively.
At its peak, Chunhe Group employed over 25,000 people, with total assets of RMB 21.3 billion and annual revenue of RMB 13.5 billion in 2012. Liang Xiaolei was dubbed Zhejiang’s “New Ship King,” and his net worth was estimated at RMB 800 million in the 2006 Forbes Rich List.
However, the downturn began in 2014 as global economic pressures and financial conditions led to prolonged slumps in shipping, shipbuilding, and offshore sectors, resulting in severe overcapacity. Three of Chunhe Group’s shipyards—Nantong Pacific Offshore & Engineering, Zhejiang Shipyard, and Dayang Shipbuilding—suffered steep declines. Bank loan recalls exacerbated the crisis, plunging the company into financial distress. In 2015, Chunhe Group reported a staggering RMB 3.2 billion loss.
All three shipyards were among the first batch of companies compliant with the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology’s shipbuilding standards. In April 2016, Zhejiang Shipyard filed for bankruptcy restructuring due to financing difficulties. Nantong Pacific Offshore & Engineering entered liquidation in August 2016 and was later acquired by CIMC Enric, rebranded as CIMC Sinopacific Offshore & Engineering. Dayang Shipbuilding declared bankruptcy on July 24, 2017, and was restructured by Sumec Corporation in August 2018, becoming New Dayang Shipbuilding Co., Ltd.
After losing control of the three shipyards, Liang gradually retreated from the industry. In a 2018 interview, he expressed hopes of advising on the shipyards’ revival under new ownership.
Now, leveraging his extensive experience in offshore vessels, Liang is returning as a third-party player focused on maritime and onshore engineering design and construction. According to its website, SPEC provides one-stop solutions and shipping capacity for offshore oil and gas, shipping, and renewable energy sectors. Backed by an international team with over 20 years of engineering, procurement, and construction management expertise, SPEC ensures the delivery of modern, energy-efficient vessels tailored to project-intensive needs.
SPEC’s portfolio includes PSVs, AHTS, IMR vessels, bulk carriers, liquefied gas carriers, and topside modules, having delivered approximately 250 OSVs, 200 bulk carriers, 15 liquefied gas carriers, and 10 topside modules.
Headquartered in Singapore, SPEC covers Asia and the Middle East, with a Paris office serving Europe and Africa. Its Shanghai team of over 40 specializes in ship design and construction. The company also plans to develop larger OSVs and AHTS vessels to capture a greater share of the offshore market.
