The Shanghai Baoshan Industrial Zone (SBIZ) is planning to spend approximately CNY 5 billion ($740m) to develop an industrial park to house foreign companies that it hopes will help the country in its quest to become a major cruiseship builder.
SBIZ administrative committee director Lei Shuguang told Reuters that companies that set up in the new zone could expect financing support from banks and recently established government funds.
The aim is to establish a network of suppliers and manufacturers of the furnishings and fittings required for the building and outfitting of cruiseships that will be built in China.
Baoshan district signed a letter of intent in May with China State Shipbuilding Corporation (CSSC), the country's largest shipbuilder, and Italy's Fincantieri to develop a hub to support a supply chain network for cruise shipbuilding.
CSSC-Fincantieri Cruise Industry Development Co Ltd will purchase cruiseship design technology license from Fincantieri for a series of Vista-class 133,000-gt cruiseships to be built for Carnival Cruise Line at Shanghai Waigaoqiao Shipbuilding (SWS).
These, together with a series of small expedition cruiseships ordered by Sunstone Ships at China Merchant Industry Holdings, will be the first cruiseships China has built for export.
The country’s shipyards have built ro-pax ferries and a couple of hybrid passenger-containerships for foreign customers in recent years. Numerous others have been built for Chinese owners, the most recent being 19,000-gt passenger-containership Ocean Blue Whale (built 2017) delivered in June to Yantai Bohai International Ferry Co by Huanghai Shipbuilding.
The ship has a capacity for 460 teus and 810 passengers who are accommodated in what the operator describes as cruiseship-standard luxury cabins.
