By February, USA Falcon has repaired its 12th vessel in Shanghai Shipyard. The yards totally repaired 85 vessel in 2012, almost the same with that of 2011. However, most shipbuilders and ship repairing shipyards in China has been facing a predicament for successive three years. The prospects for 2013 is even more pessimistic and domestic ship repairing production value is possibly to face another year of decrease.
However, the conditions for big shipyard are still bright till now. French owner CMA CGM has signed strategic cooperation agreements for ship repairing in 2013 with COSCO (Zhoushan) Shipyard. The overall output value of over-scale ship repairing enterprises in 2012 is CNY18.1bn, 11.6% up year on year, of which main business income accounting for CNY13.5bn, increasing by 9%. Six ship repairing yards has make output values of more than CNY1.0bn.
However, the overall domestic ship repairing market is still in “cold winter” with the total national production value falling by 18%, the third declining year. Many ship repairing enterprises face great pressure in the sluggish market. On the last Chinese ship repairing yards party, the attendants put forward that the ship numbers being repaid in 2012 has been much the same with the previous year and the real pressures confront the shipyard is the small ship size and low prices. A private-owned shipyard in Zhoushan has been staying idle for over two months in last year.
In the recession of global shipping, many owners choose to stop some services and disposed oversupplied capacity, which leads to the continuing downturn of ship repairing market. According to China Ship News, the ship repairing market in 2011 is gray, black in 2012 and then “bloody” in 2013.
It is estimated that conditions for most shipyards in 2013 will be even worse than that in 2012. With more owners choosing to scrap older vessels, the overcapacity in ship repairing market will get more serious, which will bring less competitive yards more troubles. To make things worse, the cost of labor, steel, paint and other materials are on the rise. Besides, the requirements for environmental protections are growing strict.
“Ship industry has entered into an adjustment phase after ten-year rapid growth,” according to CANSI, “we have to make the preparation to go through few years of hard times”. The Association advises ship enterprises to adapt to market changes, enhance innovation capability, strengthen  transformation and upgrading, strengthening basic management, control product quality, improve international cooperation and carry out diversified management to alleviate the pressure of the market.