On June 12, Hubei Guangji Shipbuilding Heavy Industry formally signed a contract with EMARAT MARITIME, a leading Middle Eastern shipowner, for the construction of 3+3 900 TEU coastal feeder container ships.
The 900 TEU container ship contracted in this agreement was designed by the Shanghai Ship Design Institute (SDARI) and is classified by the China Classification Society (CCS). This vessel type offers significant advantages, including energy efficiency, versatility across a wide range of routes, and excellent value for money, making it the preferred choice in today’s coastal and feeder shipping markets.
Located in Wuxue City, Hubei Province—a deep-water port on the middle reaches of the Yangtze River—Hubei Guangji Shipbuilding Heavy Industry is a large state-owned shipyard established with investment from the Wuxue municipal government. The facility features an intelligent integrated assembly workshop with an annual steel processing capacity of 200,000 metric tons, as well as 10 horizontal slipways and a 1,200-meter barge dock. From the outset, the yard has the capacity to build 30 container ships or bulk carriers annually.
In March 2025, Hubei Guangji Shipbuilding Heavy Industry officially broke ground on its project to build 1 million DWT of new energy vessels annually. According to reports, the project covers an area of 1,640 mu (approximately 112 hectares) with a planned total investment of 3.5 billion yuan. It will feature six production workshops, including a hull assembly workshop, a section welding workshop, an outfitting workshop, a piping workshop, an assembly and distribution workshop, and a coating workshop; as well as five sets of slipways, one longitudinal slipway, four outfitting berths, and supporting facilities. Upon completion, the project is expected to produce 1 million DWT of new energy vessels annually, with an annual output value exceeding 4 billion yuan.
EMARAT MARITIME operates a fleet of 32 vessels, including oil tankers, bulk carriers, Very Large Ammonia Carriers (VLACs), and container ships, with a total deadweight tonnage of 2.21 million tons.