COSCO Shipping Heavy Industry is expanding its ship repair and offshore engineering footprint in South China with a RMB3bn ($421m) project at Yangjiang, Guangdong province.
The development will see the construction of a 400,000-tonne dry dock, a 200,000-tonne dry dock, an 80,000-tonne floating dock and seven berths, enabling the yard to handle VLCCs, large containerships and offshore units. Once operational, the facility is expected to repair and convert around 250 vessels and offshore units annually.
The project is being led by COSCO Shipping Heavy Industry (Yangjiang), a wholly owned subsidiary set up in April 2025 to spearhead the group’s South China expansion. The company said the yard will be geared towards the global repair and conversion market, meeting the growing demand for servicing larger ships and offshore engineering assets.
COSCO has also signed an investment cooperation framework with Tianjin Port Free Trade Zone, where it plans to establish another large-scale repair and conversion base with three docks and seven berths.
The Chinese group, often dubbed the country’s “ship repair carrier” and a leading player in FPSO conversions, currently operates nine mid- to large-sized shipyards. Its network delivers more than 1,500 vessel repairs and conversions annually, alongside newbuild capacity, offshore engineering units and modules.
