China's shipbuilders strive to navigate economic cold

A beacon of hope

As urgency for change mounts, China is trying to find a way out by encouraging shipbuilders to offer high-end products.

The government is encouraging shipbuilders to go into the high-end sector, with a national guideline on the country's manufacturing in May emphasizing better investment in research and development in shipbuilding and marine engineering equipment.

A guideline drafted by the China Association of National Shipbuilding Industry was also recently completed. The guideline maps out plans for the industry to increase high-tech shipbuilding by 2020.

Government support is seeing good results.

In December, State-owned Shanghai Waigaoqiao Shipbuilding Co Ltd said it will build China's first cruise ship with technological support from Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri, with construction starting in 2017 and hopefully completing in 2020.

Also in December, Wuchang Shipbuilding Industry Group Co Ltd secured a deal to build a deep-diving vessel for Singaporean company Ultra Deep Offshore Ltd, the first order in 2015.

Shipbuilders are also using the Internet to try to boost sales. Zhang Qingjie, general manager of Huahai Shipbuilding Co Ltd, said his company has launched two websites to promote international sales.

"We have big markets in some Southeast Asia countries, so we are working to promote our ships there."

One of the websites, shipfinder.com, currently receives more than 30,000 hits on a daily basis, with more than ten ships sold through the site so far, mostly to Southeast Asian nations. Zhang said a management team has been set up to further open the market there.

Meanwhile, shipbuilders are working together to boost sales in overseas markets. Lin Ruijin said that about 500 technicians from various shipbuilders in Fu'an are working together in Batam Island, Indonesia to make ships.

"While shipbuilders should grasp opportunities to strengthen themselves, the government should also step up investments in R&D in shipbuilding," said Wu Yousheng, an academic with the Chinese Academy of Engineering.