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By David Hannon, News and Transportation Editor -- Purchasing, 2/5/2004 2:00:00 AM
The shortage of ocean shipping capacity has not gone unnoticed to the Chinese shipping industry. In late 2003, a Chinese shipbuilding company broke ground on what it says will be the world's biggest shipyard, capable of producing cruise ships and natural gas tankers.
The yard, being built on an island at the mouth of the Yangtze River, will feature seven construction docks along a five-mile stretch of coastline. Work on the first ships at the yard will begin after first-phase construction is completed in four years. When completed in 2015, the yard will be able to produce 12 million dead weight tons of ships per year, potentially representing dozens of vessels. (Dead weight tonnage is the weight of the ship combined with the maximum amount of tons of cargo it can carry. The largest oil tankers weigh in at about 500,000 dead weight tons.)
The new yard will take the title of biggest shipyard away from Hyundai Heavy Industries Co. Ltd., which currently operates the world's largest shipyard in the South Korean city of Ulsan.
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