A strategic cooperation agreement was recently signed in Tianjin among the Administrative Committee of Tianjin Port Free Trade Zone, Tianjin Port Group and Shanghai Lecang Energy Technology Co., Ltd., to jointly build the Lecang Energy Headquarters Project for Green and Intelligent Retrofit of Ships.
As a key project signed at the 4th Tianjin International Shipping Industry Expo, Lecang Energy will focus on the green and smart retrofitting of large vessels, providing strong momentum for the development of Tianjin Port into a world-class smart and green port.
With this establishment, Shanghai Lecang Energy Technology will adopt a “headquarters + manufacturing” model, setting up a headquarters in Tianjin to handle international orders for dual-fuel retrofits of large vessels. The company also plans to invest 2 billion yuan (approximately $295 million) to build an industrial base in the Lingang Central Zone of the Port of Tianjin that integrates R&D of green marine propulsion systems, smart retrofit technical services, and core equipment integration.
It is reported that the base’s technical and management teams will align with world-class standards and fully integrate the latest cutting-edge intelligent technologies in the shipbuilding and offshore engineering sectors, leading the global shipbuilding and offshore engineering industry toward high-end, green, and intelligent transformation and upgrading. Once the project reaches full production capacity, it is expected to generate an annual output value of 4 billion yuan and create 3,000 jobs.
As the first landmark project in the comprehensive upgrade of the Lingang Central Area, the LeCang Energy Ship Green and Smart Retrofit Headquarters Project aligns precisely with the global trend toward a green and low-carbon transition in shipping and the national development plan for the shipbuilding and offshore engineering industry cluster. The implementation of this project will provide strong support for Tianjin to leverage its core port advantages, accelerate the cultivation of new productive forces in the marine economy, and build an internationally competitive shipbuilding and offshore engineering equipment manufacturing industry cluster.
Liu Yongjiang, Director and General Manager of Shanghai Lecang Energy Technology, said, “The green ship retrofitting facility we are building will be capable of retrofitting 20 to 30 large container ships with a capacity of 10,000 TEUs or more each year. Our first order is for the retrofitting of the world’s largest 24,000-TEU container ship.”