Hanjin's Chinese shipyard cleared foreign vessel repairs

SOUTH KOREA's Hanjin Shipping' repair yard, ZESCO (Zhejiang Eastern Shipyard Co), has just received official approval from the Chinese government to repair foreign ships, a statement issued by Hanjin said.

Originally established in May 2007, the facility has successfully repaired 14 vessels under a temporary agreement with the Chinese government since April 2008.

The shipyard, on Qushun Island near Shanghai's Yangshan facility, currently sits on 550,000 square metres of land and is equipped with a 150,000 DWT (deadweight tonnage) capable dock and a 300,000 dwt dock, as well as a 670-metre quay, following the completion of phase 1 of the development,

Upon completion of phase two of the project, ZESCO will have an additional dock capable of handling up to 400,000 dwt.

Hanjin says ZESCO's capacity for ship repairs will reach 150 once a rebound in the ship repair market occurs. Meanwhile the yard's capacity will increase to 300 vessels annually upon completion of phase two.

"We are optimistic that this ship repair yard will turn into a good business considering its location near the world's fastest growing hub port and the fact that there is no mega-sized ship repair yard in Korea attracting ship repair work to China instead," a Hanjin spokesman said.

Hanjin expects the business to provide a steady source of income going forward.
 

Source: Sched Net