On November 24, Hengli Heavy Industry held the naming ceremony for two 82,000 deadweight ton Kamsarmax bulk carriers, the “SYRMA” and the “SARGAS,” built for Wanhui Holdings Group. This marks another success in Hengli Heavy Industry’s rhythmic production and also signifies the first application of Hengli’s self-produced marine engines in Hengli shipbuilding, successfully setting sail to sea.
Yang Chuan, Chairman of Wanhui Holdings Group; Chen Biao, Vice President of Bureau Veritas China Region; Li Zhenhua, Representative of the HKU EMBA; and Chen Hanlun, Director and General Manager of Songfa Co., Ltd., attended the ceremony and delivered speeches. Fan Hongwei, Vice Chairman of Hengli Group and Chairman of Hengli Petrochemical Co., Ltd.; An Jinxiang, Chairman of Hengli Heavy Industry Group; as well as representatives from the shipowner, classification society, design institute, financial institutions, and The University of Hong Kong, jointly attended the event. Gu Jun, Secretary-General of the Shanghai Shipping Insurance Association, and Chen Yu, Operations Director of Wanhui Holdings Group, served as the godmothers, naming the two new vessels and cutting the cables respectively.
Yang Chuan, Chairman of Wanhui Holdings Group, stated: “This is Wanhui Shipping’s first step into the field of newbuild Kamsarmax vessels, becoming the first user of the first marine main engine independently developed by Hengli Heavy Industry. Guided by Hengli Group’s philosophy of ‘either don’t do it, or be the best,’ this 82,000-ton vessel has been successfully completed, combining the advantages of large capacity and high stability for freight, while deeply aligning with the trend of green shipping. The successful delivery and naming of these two vessels are not only a key step in expanding our bulk transport footprint and enhancing market competitiveness, but also a new starting point for deepening multi-party cooperation and jointly drawing the blueprint for the shipping industry. We hope to take this delivery as an opportunity to advance hand in hand with Hengli Group and all partners, striving together to write an even more brilliant chapter for China’s shipbuilding and shipping industry!”
Chen Biao, Vice President of Bureau Veritas China Region, stated: “The construction journey of these two vessels is another milestone in the development history of Hengli Heavy Industry. Since the commencement of construction, all parties involved have consistently adhered to a craftsman spirit of striving for excellence, collaborating closely, overcoming difficulties, strictly controlling every quality detail, and seizing every critical milestone. Since its establishment, Hengli Heavy Industry has rapidly risen to become a leader in China’s shipbuilding industry with astonishing development speed and ambition. Today, the dual naming and delivery ceremony held on the same day marks the expansion of the Wanhui Group fleet, the leap in production capacity of Hengli Heavy Industry, and another fruitful result of the strong collaboration! We wish the two new vessels smooth voyages forever, becoming ‘maritime envoys’ of Hengli Heavy Industry’s exceptional quality, spreading the reputation of ‘Made in China’ across the world’s oceans!”
Li Zhenhua, Representative of the HKU EMBA, stated: “Today I witnessed the maritime power transformed from blueprints to ten-thousand-ton giants, from steel structures to vessels that brave the waves. Every rivet and every weld embodies the wisdom and sweat of all the builders. I am deeply impressed by China’s shipbuilding industry. Ships are floating territory and a name card of national strength. I wish the two new vessels smooth sailing and great success in their endeavors!”
Chen Hanlun, Director and General Manager of Songfa Co., Ltd., stated: “Today’s dual vessel naming ceremony is a joyous occasion shared by Hengli and Wanhui. Seeing the two new vessels equipped with main engines independently designed and built by Hengli, standing proudly at sea, we are genuinely proud of Hengli’s manufacturing. This year marks the third anniversary of Hengli Heavy Industry’s establishment. Over these three years, Hengli Heavy Industry has faced challenges head-on, transforming a shipyard abandoned for ten years into a world-class shipbuilding base, going through an unforgettable development journey, and building a complete industrial chain from core components to whole ship construction, receiving high recognition from international shipping giants and top-tier shipowners. We greatly look forward to building more and better green, high-end ship types in the global shipbuilding industry’s green transformation and upgrading, making greater contributions to the nation’s maritime power construction!”
Since the commencement of construction for the two new vessels, Hengli Heavy Industry has adhered to the principle of “each ship is a project, each ship is a masterpiece,” implementing high-quality management and high-standard construction, leading to successful completion and on-time delivery. The installed Hengli engines, with their exceptional quality, perfectly align with the green and low-carbon development trend of the shipbuilding industry, breaking the industry bottleneck of “ships waiting for engines” in ship construction.
It is understood that the Kamsarmax bulk carrier is one of the main ship types built by Hengli Heavy Industry. It features notable characteristics such as “green, environmentally friendly, energy-saving, and safe,” is a mainstream bulk carrier type in the ocean shipping market, meets the International Maritime Organization’s most stringent emission requirements, and its various performance indicators have reached internationally advanced levels. Thanks to its cargo capacity, efficient operation, and advanced environmental technology, this ship type is highly favored by global shipping clients.
The predecessor of Hengli Heavy Industry, STX Dalian, was once China’s largest foreign-invested shipyard, possessing the largest single shipyard in Northern China. In 2022, responding to the national call, Hengli Group established Hengli Heavy Industry Group, investing 2.11 billion yuan to successfully acquire the long-idle former STX Dalian assets through auction, aiming to build a world-class high-end shipbuilding base. In January 2023, the first phase of Hengli Heavy Industry, the “Ocean Factory,” achieved full operation in just 150 days. In January of this year, the second-phase project—the “Future Factory”—achieved operational status within 5 months. In September of this year, the Hengli Heavy Industry Cooperation Innovation and Offshore Technology Industrial Park commenced construction in Changxing Island, Dalian.
As of now, Hengli Heavy Industry has commenced construction on over 60 vessels, holds orders for approximately 170 vessels, with production scheduled until 2029. Once all Hengli Heavy Industry series projects reach full production capacity, they will enable the annual construction of over 150 very large vessels, production of 180 marine engines (including G95 main engines and below models), and achieve full coverage of four dual-fuel types: LNG, LPG, methanol, and ammonia. It will become the world’s largest single-site shipbuilding base with the most complete supporting facilities.
In the future, Hengli Heavy Industry will continue to focus on the construction of high-end, intelligent, and green vessels, based on building a world-class shipbuilding base, to gather momentum and empower the high-quality development of the national industry.
