China Merchants Industry Holdings (CMI) has been renamed China Merchants Shipbuilding Industry Group Co., Ltd. (CMI) and made its first public appearance under the new brand during the China Maritime 2025.
According to the official WeChat account of China Merchants Shipbuilding Industry, on December 1st, China Merchants Shipbuilding Industry announced the China Maritime 2025 under a new identity; on December 2nd, the company’s official WeChat account was verified as “China Merchants Industry” to “China Merchants Shipbuilding Industry”.
China Merchants Shipbuilding Industry is China’s leading provider of marine equipment and services. As the sole secondary manufacturing group under China Merchants Group—a pioneer of China’s national industrial and commercial development—it focuses on high-end offshore equipment manufacturing, luxury cruise ship construction, offshore equipment conversion and retrofitting, as well as the production of new materials and specialized equipment.
This change in company name suggests that this large shipbuilding and offshore engineering equipment manufacturing enterprise under China Merchants Group may be undergoing a major strategic adjustment.
In the first half of this year, China Merchants Shipbuilding Industry completed a major transaction—the acquisition of Qingdao Yangfan Shipbuilding (Qingdao Yangfan). This acquisition marks China Merchants Shipbuilding Industry’s formal entry into the construction of mainstream standard vessel types such as container ships and bulk carriers. The company aims to integrate and optimize its shipbuilding resources and layout through this move, thereby enhancing its shipbuilding capacity.
Following the acquisition, the original Qingdao Shipyard was renamed “China Merchants Industry Group Qingdao Shipyard (China Merchants Industry Qingdao Shipyard)”. On June 18, China Merchants Industry Qingdao Shipyard, which is the same age as the People’s Republic of China, embarked on a new journey with the vision of becoming “China’s leading major merchant shipbuilding base”. On the same day, Miao Jianmin, Chairman of China Merchants Group, conducted an on-site investigation of the production situation in the workshops and wharves of China Merchants Industry Qingdao Shipyard.
China Merchants Shipbuilding Industry has established distinct brands tailored to different business sectors: – Yiu Lian Shipyard (responsible for ship repair and conversion) – China Merchants Heavy Industry (specializing in offshore engineering equipment manufacturing) – China Merchants Jinling (focused on special-purpose vessel manufacturing) – China Merchants Cruise Shipbuilding (dedicated to luxury cruise ship construction). The company has deployed multiple manufacturing bases in core regions including Bohai Bay, the Yangtze River Economic Belt, the Yangtze River Delta, and the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.
However, in the larger traditional merchant ship markets such as tankers, container ships, and bulk carriers, China Merchants Shipbuilding Industry has yet to establish significant market competitiveness. Following the integration of China Merchants Shipbuilding Industry Qingdao Shipyard, the company has further expanded its coverage across these three major merchant ship sectors. For instance, since joining China Merchants, Qingdao Shipyard has secured orders for one medium-sized container ship and two large bulk carriers. During the maritime exhibition, it also successfully signed a contract with German shipowner Neu Seeschiffahrt for six 342,000 DWT VLOCs.
Additionally, China Merchants Shipbuilding Industry’s Haimen Base has also entered the gas carrier and container ship markets this year. This includes 3+3 vessels of 22,000 TEU LNG dual-fuel ultra-large container ships for Mediterranean Shipping Company. The first three vessels are reportedly to be constructed at the Haimen Base, with deliveries expected to commence in 2027. with the subsequent three optional vessels to be constructed by China Merchants Shipbuilding Industry Qingdao Shipyard; and two 20,000 m³ LNG bunkering vessels for Caravel Group and Danish shipowner Celsius Tankers.
The official website indicates that China Merchants Shipbuilding Industry is a specialized enterprise group under the equipment manufacturing division of China Merchants Group. Through resource integration, the company has established a “4+X” business layout encompassing marine equipment R&D and design, marine equipment construction, marine equipment maintenance and retrofitting, marine equipment supporting services, and other investment operations. It builds differentiated core competitiveness around the “three transformations” (high-end, intelligent, and green), ranking among China’s top three state-owned marine equipment manufacturing groups. The company boasts 11 national-level high-tech enterprises and 5 national-level green factories.