On December 18, Zongyang Shipyard of Anhui Port & Shipping Sealand Equipment Company, a subsidiary of Tongling Port & Shipping Group, successfully secured an order for one 9,000 DWT asphalt carrier from Hunan Shunda International Logistics of Rongda Shipping Group. Under the cooperation agreement, the two parties will place an additional order for another two vessels of the same type under a “1+1” model, subject to the progress of the collaboration.
Zongyang Shipyard officially started construction at the end of February 2025, which is jointly invested by Anhui Port & Shipping and Shandong Port Group, with a total investment of RMB 670 million, and mainly engaged in shipbuilding, maintenance, dismantling and other businesses. On May 22, Anhui Port & Shipping Sealand Equipment Company signed a contract with Singapore’s Winning International Group for four 12,000 DWT deck carriers, securing Zongyang Shipyard’s first international order and marking the inaugural vessel built since the new shipyard’s establishment. On June 25, Zongyang Shipyard officially commenced production, with self-propelled deck barges and LNG multi-purpose vessels starting construction on the same day.
Zongyang Shipyard is a key intelligent shipbuilding base developed by Anhui Port & Shipping. It took merely four months from the groundbreaking on February 28 to the official commissioning on June 25.
Zongyang Shipyard’s predecessor is the largest private shipbuilding enterprises in Anhui Province, Anhui Dongfang Shipbuilding, invested by Zhejiang Dongfang Shipbuilding Group. In 2008, Dongfang Shipbuilding’s Anhui base was completed and put into operation, and the first orders were signed for the construction of cargo ships with a total value of RMB 900 million (about US$125 million). However, as the shipbuilding industry entered a downturn, Dongfang Shipbuilding fell into an operational crisis and has since been seeking to sell assets and restructure.
In 2016, Zongyang County Government obtained the asset ownership of Anhui Dongfang Shipbuilding. In order to revitalize and utilize the resources of Dongfang Shipbuilding, Zongyang County Government actively promotes investment and accelerates the work related to the integration of the assets of Dongfang Shipbuilding.
In November 2024, Anhui Port & Shipping Group and Shandong Port Group signed an investment intention agreement in Qingdao. The two sides would improve the functional layout of the port, accelerate the new energy shipbuilding, planning inland waterway port and navigation equipment industrial park and other aspects of increased cooperation, re-combination of the revitalization of existing assets, reconstructing technology, management system, accelerate the Zongyang County Dongfang shipbuilding plant project cooperation landing. Eventually, Anhui Port & Shipping Sealand Equipment Company Zongyang Shipyard was successfully revitalized.
To date, Zongyang Shipyard has secured orders for over 20 ships, with its current order backlog exceeding 260,000 deadweight tons. The newly contracted asphalt carrier order will further enhance Anhui Port & Shipping Sealand Equipment Company’s track record in specialized vessels, particularly asphalt carriers, and help expand the company’s market share in the liquid cargo ship sector.