The order backlog at CSBC Corp, Taiwan (CSBC, 台灣國際造船), the nation’s largest shipbuilder, has expanded to 2013, with further orders still under negotiation, chairman Cheng Wen-long (鄭文隆) said on Thursday.
Addressing a ceremony to mark the signing of an agreement between CSBC and Taipei-based Chinese Maritime Transport Ltd (CMT, 中國航運) for the building of two Newcastle-type bulk carriers of 200,000dwt (deadweight tonnes), Cheng said CSBC’s high-caliber workforce and production capability make it a popular shipbuilder with international ship owners.
“CSBC will draw even more international ship owners to place orders with us if the government can provide large loans,” he said.
Evergreen Marine Corp (長榮海運), one of the world’s leading container ship operators, is presently in discussions with CSBC over an order for a new fleet of 12 container vessels, Cheng said.
New orders are expected to pile up in the coming years, as all oil tanker fleets around the globe are converted from single-hulled vessels to double-hulled by 2015, he added.
Cheng said that to boost its shipbuilding capacity and raise its international competitiveness, CSBC plans to enter strategic partnerships with major shipbuilders in China in the area of ship design and the production of prefabricated steel blocks.
CMT chairman John Peng (彭蔭剛) also said that CSBC might upgrade its 350-tonne gantry cranes to 900-tonne Goliath cranes to speed up its shipbuilding capacity.
Kaohsiung-based CSBC delivered three container ships to German shipping company Peter Dohle Schiffahrts-KG in a single day on April 26, a feat rarely seen even in such major shipbuilding countries as Japan and South Korea.
The ships delivered included two vessels that can hold 6,600 20-foot containers and one ship capable of carrying 4,200 20-foot containers.
Meanwhile, on May 18, a new squadron of 10 missile fast boats, built by CSBC, was launched at the Zuoying naval base, a milestone in the development of locally built military vessels.
CSBC has already delivered 12 Haichiao-class missile fast boats to the Navy, with 18 others under construction. When all 18 fast attack craft are delivered late next year, 30 of Taiwan’s existing 50 Seagull-class fast boats will be retired, the navy said.
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