As a top-tier shipbuilding and ship-repair enterprise in China, COSCO SHIPPING Heavy Industry is making a foray into the realm of the “heart” of a ship—its engine—having recently established its first subsidiary dedicated exclusively to the manufacturing of marine engines.
Business registration records show that on October 22, 2026, COSCO Shipping Engine (Yangzhou) Co., Ltd. was incorporated with a registered capital of 30 million yuan. Its business scope includes the manufacture of marine auxiliary equipment; the sale of mechanical and electrical equipment; the manufacture and sale of offshore engineering equipment; and the manufacture and sale of metal structures, among others. The new company is wholly owned by COSCO Shipping Heavy Industry.
The establishment of COSCO Shipping Engine (Yangzhou) marks a new milestone in COSCO Shipping Heavy Industry’s business expansion in the field of core marine propulsion systems.
At a promotional conference for the high-tech shipbuilding and offshore engineering equipment industry held in Yangzhou on July 11, a framework agreement was signed for a marine engine project by COSCO Shipping Heavy Industry. The project, which includes the production of marine engines and related auxiliary equipment, involves an estimated investment of approximately 5 billion yuan. Once completed, it is expected to have an annual production capacity of 80 to 120 marine engines, including methanol dual-fuel engines and those powered by other clean energy sources.
Public data indicates that Yangzhou currently hosts 89 shipbuilding and offshore engineering enterprises above a designated size, with an annual shipbuilding capacity reaching 8 million deadweight tonnes (DWT). As of 2025, Yangzhou ranks first in Jiangsu Province in terms of new shipbuilding volume. In the first half of 2026, the city secured new orders totaling 9.8411 million DWT—a year-on-year increase of 121.12%—while completed tonnage reached 4.3565 million DWT, up 36.52% year-on-year. Furthermore, the volume of orders on hand stood at 29.0177 million DWT, an increase of 91.27% year-on-year; all three key shipbuilding indicators have thus shown significant growth.
As a significant industrial base for shipbuilding and offshore engineering equipment, Yangzhou’s shipbuilding sector is not without underlying risks: for a long time, the city has lacked the capacity for independent supply in critical, high-tech, and high-value-added areas—such as marine main engines.
The main engine is considered the “heart” of a ship, accounting for 10%–15% of the vessel’s total construction cost. However, as the technology has long been controlled by a few international giants, this has significantly constrained the collaborative development capabilities of shipbuilding hubs such as Yangzhou.
By entering the marine main engine market and expanding its business footprint, COSCO SHIPPING Heavy Industry is helping to overcome a key development bottleneck for the shipbuilding industry in Yangzhou. This move will bolster Yangzhou’s capacity for independent, localized supply of critical components—such as marine main engines—thereby filling a gap in the city’s core marine machinery supply chain and strengthening its overall competitiveness within the national and global shipbuilding sectors.