[050314.EN.SEA] Yangzijiang Aims For 18,000 TEUers, After It Builds 1st 10,000 TEU Ship

CHINA's third largest listed shipbuilder, Yangzijiang Shipbuilding Holdings, will deliver its biggest containership to date, a 10,000 TEUer for Seaspan, and has now set its sights building 18,000 TEU vessels.

"We want to make containerships our signature product," chairman Ren Yuanlin, Reuters reports.

On the company's outstanding order book worth US$4.6 billion that rose from $3.9 billion at the end of September, 81 bulk carriers accounted for 55 per cent of the total value while the remainder are containerships, company data showed.

Yangzijiang said it plans to deliver another eight 10,000 TEU ships.

The company said to gain access to the mega ship market it will likely offer lower prices than those commanded by the top three South Korean shipyards.

Containers ships with capacities larger than 8,000 TEU dominated new orders globally last year. Vessels with a combined capacity of 19.2 million deadweight tonnes (dwt) were ordered, according to the World Shipyard Monitor published by Clarkson Research Services.

The shipbuilder reported a fourth quarter net profit of CNY746.3 million ($121.85 million), down eight per cent year on year as income from shipbuilding decreased. Full year net profit stood at CNY3.1 billion.

Source : HKSG.