It is reported that Hanjin Shipping's Zhejiang Eastern Shipyard has received official approval from the Chinese government to repair foreign ships.

ZESCO, developed in conjunction with China Shunhe Shipping is located in Qushan Island of Zhejiang Province near Shanghai Yang Shan Port. With the completion of phase-1, the yard sits on a land of 550,000 with 150,000 DWT dock, 300,000 DWT dock and a quay of 670m. When phase-2 is completed, it will also have a 400,000 DWT dock with a quay of 640m.

ZESCO established in May 2007 and constructed last March successfully repaired 14 ships since last April with temporary approval from the Chinese government.

According to the company, once the ship repair industry recovers, ZESCO will be able to repair around 150 ships a year and as soon as the phase-2 is completed, it will become a mega sized ship repair yard with a capacity for 300 ships on annual basis.

Hanjin Shipping said “We are optimistic that this ship repair yard will turn into a good business considering its location near the world’s fastest growing hub port and the fact that there is no mega sized ship repair yard in Korea attracting ship repair work to China instead.”

It said “We believe that receiving the official approval for repairing foreign ships will activate our business. In fact we have already been inquired by a number of ship owners and our book for September is already full. We expect it to be a stable source of income for us.”

(Source from SeaTradeAsia-Online)