Dual vessels built simultaneously! Anhui Port & Shipping's land-and-sea equipment enters a new phase.

Recently, the $40 million project—featuring four 12,000-DWT deck cargo vessels for Weili International Group, constructed by Anhui Port & Shipping Land-Sea Equipment Co., Ltd.—has achieved a significant milestone. Following the keel-laying ceremony for the lead vessel, the second ship successfully completed its own keel-laying on October 29, 2025, marking the project's transition from the modular fabrication phase into the full-ship outfitting stage.

As the core milestone in shipbuilding, keel laying is hailed as the "backbone" of the vessel. Successfully completing this critical phase serves as an important test of the quality of earlier block fabrication and the efficiency of project organization, while also laying a solid foundation for subsequent processes such as overall hull assembly and outfitting operations. The achievement of this milestone marks the project's transition into a new phase of rapid, continuous construction, providing robust assurance for upcoming steps like launching, mooring trials, sea trials, and timely delivery. This type of deck cargo ship is specifically designed for tropical coastal routes, primarily tasked with transporting bulk cargoes such as bauxite and iron ore. Once operational, it will significantly enhance the efficiency of regional waterborne transportation for large-scale commodities, strengthening the logistics support capabilities of the supply chain. This, in turn, will play a positive role in fostering coordinated economic development along rivers and coastlines.

Anhui Port & Shipping Land-Sea Equipment Co., Ltd. will take this milestone breakthrough as an opportunity to continuously strengthen production organization and quality control, rigorously enforce process standards, and ensure the project is delivered on time with superior quality. The smooth progress of this project marks a significant step in the company’s implementation of its strategic layout for the high-end equipment manufacturing sector, while also providing solid support for further expanding both domestic and international shipbuilding markets and boosting the development of port-related industries along the Wanjiang region.

It is understood that Anhui Port & Shipping Land-Sea Equipment Co., Ltd. is a modern, high-end equipment manufacturing enterprise jointly established through a powerful alliance between Tongling Port & Shipping Investment & Construction Group Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of Anhui Provincial Port & Shipping Group, and Shandong Port Land-Sea Equipment Group Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of Shandong Port Group. The company has a registered capital of 202 million yuan.

Leveraging the construction scale and locational advantages of the former Zongyang Shipyard (Anhui Dongfang Shipbuilding), the company is advancing the construction of the shipyard project within the Anhui Port & Shipping Inland Port Economic Industrial Park. The project will primarily focus on shipbuilding, repair, and dismantling services, while continuously enhancing the functional layout of Tongling Port and accelerating the development of new-energy vessel manufacturing. Ultimately, the company aims to establish the site as "one new-energy vessel repair and construction base, one integrated three-dimensional hub port, one cutting-edge intelligent manufacturing innovation center, and one thriving inland port economic industrial park."

This May, Congyang Shipyard received a contract from Singapore's Wheelock International Group to build four 12,000-ton self-propelled deck barges, with a total value of 170 million yuan. The four new vessels are scheduled for delivery in two batches—two in 2026 and two in 2027. This marks Congyang Shipyard’s first-ever international order, as well as the shipyard’s inaugural vessel since its establishment. On June 25, Congyang Shipyard officially kicked off production, along with groundbreaking ceremonies for the self-propelled deck barges and an LNG multipurpose vessel, held in Congyang County, Tongling City.