Chinese ship repair yard to enter cruise construction business
Chinese company Beibu Gulf Tourism has entered into agreements with Shanghai Zhaoxiang Cruise Technology Group and Shanghai Huarun Dadong Dockyard for the development a luxury cruise ship.
Beibu Gulf Tourism will be the owner of the cruiseship, while Shanghai Zhaoxiang will be responsible for the design and EPC management and Shanghai Huarun Dadong the shipbuilder.
Shanghai-listed Beibu Gulf Tourism is the largest tourism ferry operator in the Beibu Gulf region, and currently operates seven ferries on domestic routes between Guangxi and Shandong.
According to Zhao Jinfeng, president of Beibu Gulf Tourism, the company is planning to use the new cruise ship to develop international tourism routes.
Shanghai Huarong Dadong is a joint venture between Hong Kong-based China Resources and CSSC-affiliated Hudong Zhonghua Shipbuilding, mainly offering ship repair and conversion services. The shipyard undertook the repair and conversion work for Costa Atlantica in 2015.
In September, Carnival Corporation’s cruise joint venture in China signed a non-binding memorandum of agreement (MOA) to order the industry’s first new cruise ships built in China for the Chinese market. The cruise ships will be built by a newly formed China-based shipbuilding joint venture between CSSC and Fincantieri.