One of China’s oldest shipbuilders, Shanghai Shipyard, an affiliate yard of Chinese shipbuilding conglomerate China State Shipbuilding Corporation, is going to suspend operations by the end of this year due to a lack of orders.
An official from Shanghai Shipyard confirmed to Splash that the shipyard will suspend shipbuilding operations after it delivers the last two ships to Zhonggu Shipping, having delivered the fourth of six 2,500 teu containerships last week.
According to an internal notice the shipyard sent to its employees, seen by Splash, the shipyard has implemented a sequential leave policy under which only 30-40% of the total employees will be kept working at the yard.
Shanghai Shipyard has not received any new orders this year. It currently has another three 106,000 dwt bulk carriers on order from Estonian owner Platano Eesti. The deliveries of the vessels were originally scheduled in 2019 and 2020. It is very likely that the ships will be transferred to other CSSC yards in Shanghai to complete construction.
Shanghai Shipyard’s history can be traced back over 100 years ago. It was officially named Shanghai Shipyard in 1985 and the yard moved to its current location on Chongming Island near Shanghai in 2005, moving out of its central location along the Huangpu river to make way for the huge Shanghai Expo.
