A giant resurrected Chinese shipyard is set to churn out far more ships after its parent announced a $1.3bn expansion plan.
Hengli Group, a private oil player in China, which acquired STX Dalian two years ago, now rebranded Hengli Heavy Industry, has detailed plans to up the yard’s annual shipbuilding capacity to 7.1m tons, more than twice its current output.
While the yard has predominantly focused on kamsarmax bulk carriers since its revival top management has said it will now also target VLCCs, VLGCs, large containerships, FPSOs, and high-value-added offshore engineering equipment
STX Dalian was one of the largest shipyards in the world in terms of area space when it was founded in 2006. It went bankrupt in 2014 due to a financial crisis at its parent in South Korea leaving over 20,000 employees out of work.