S Korean shipbuilding giant shifts out of China
South Korean shipbuilding giant Samsung Heavy Industries (SHI) has recently announced the closure of its plant Ningbo in the eastern Chinese province of Zhejiang after allegedly agreeing to hand over its land to the local government for industrial renewal, sparking days of protests by laid-off workers seeking better severance pay.
The SHI has two plants in China, SHI Ningbo and SHI Rongcheng. Established in 1995, the Ningbo plant is focused on the production of ship blocks with iron structures as well as shipbuilding for overseas and domestic markets. It has produced and supplied nearly 200,000 tonnes of ship blocks per year.
The closure takes place amid a seismic shift in Asian shipbuilding, ET has learnt. Since 2019, the South Korean government has laid out plans to revive the country’s shipbuilding and shipping industries. It promoted the merger of Hyundai Heavy Industries and Daewoo Shipbuilding to create the world’s largest…
