CSBC Corp, Taiwan (台灣國際造船) yesterday unveiled an alliance to tap into demand — valued at about NT$30 billion (US$974.6 million) annually — for marine services from Taiwan’s emerging offshore wind energy sector.
The nation’s only listed shipbuilder said it inked a memorandum of understanding with Yang Ming Marine Transport Corp (陽明海運), Taiwan Navigation Co Ltd (台航) and state-run Taiwan International Port Corp (TIPC, 台灣港務) to combine the capabilities of Taiwan’s leading shipping and marine engineering companies.
The companies aim to lend their expertise to provide towing and transport for components and materials used to build offshore wind turbines, as well as maintenance services for construction vessels, before tackling advanced vessel repairs, search and rescue operations, and personnel training, CSBC chairman Cheng Wen-lon (鄭文隆) told a news conference.
Photo: Yang Ya-min, Taipei Times
Yang Ming Marine said it would train crew to transport oversized components on long-haul voyages, while Taiwan Navigation would provide experience in towing and dockside operations.
TIPC said that it has fleets of specialized vessels to perform surveying, towing, lifting and maintenance duties at commercial ports in Taiwan, and is to take delivery of two 6,400 horsepower towing vessels to meet demands for offshore wind projects.
TIPC would provide 47 vessels of various types and 409 crew, it said.
The companies said that a separate joint venture might be formed as they accumulate experience and build revenue streams through partnerships with foreign developers.
Meanwhile, CSBC reported a net loss of NT$2.29 billion for last year, narrowing from a loss of NT$3.04 billion in 2017, as the company continues to face pressure from a downturn in the global cargo shipping sector.
Revenue dipped 20.7 percent annually to NT$13.01 billion, it said.
While demand for new cargo vessels has remained in a slump, CSBC said that it has been diversifying into offshore wind projects and military contracts.
Shipbuilding still accounted for 90 percent of CSBC’s revenue last year, it said.
CSBC said it hopes to have its topline support evenly split between commercial and military shipbuilding, and offshore wind power projects.
MULTIFACETED: A task force has analyzed possible scenarios and created responses to assist domestic industries in dealing with US tariffs, the economics minister said The Executive Yuan is tomorrow to announce countermeasures to US President Donald Trump’s planned reciprocal tariffs, although the details of the plan would not be made public until Monday next week, Minister of Economic Affairs J.W. Kuo (郭智輝) said yesterday. The Cabinet established an economic and trade task force in November last year to deal with US trade and tariff related issues, Kuo told reporters outside the legislature in Taipei. The task force has been analyzing and evaluating all kinds of scenarios to identify suitable responses and determine how best to assist domestic industries in managing the effects of Trump’s tariffs, he
TIGHT-LIPPED: UMC said it had no merger plans at the moment, after Nikkei Asia reported that the firm and GlobalFoundries were considering restarting merger talks United Microelectronics Corp (UMC, 聯電), the world’s No. 4 contract chipmaker, yesterday launched a new US$5 billion 12-inch chip factory in Singapore as part of its latest effort to diversify its manufacturing footprint amid growing geopolitical risks. The new factory, adjacent to UMC’s existing Singapore fab in the Pasir Res Wafer Fab Park, is scheduled to enter volume production next year, utilizing mature 22-nanometer and 28-nanometer process technologies, UMC said in a statement. The company plans to invest US$5 billion during the first phase of the new fab, which would have an installed capacity of 30,000 12-inch wafers per month, it said. The
Taiwan’s official purchasing managers’ index (PMI) last month rose 0.2 percentage points to 54.2, in a second consecutive month of expansion, thanks to front-loading demand intended to avoid potential US tariff hikes, the Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research (CIER, 中華經濟研究院) said yesterday. While short-term demand appeared robust, uncertainties rose due to US President Donald Trump’s unpredictable trade policy, CIER president Lien Hsien-ming (連賢明) told a news conference in Taipei. Taiwan’s economy this year would be characterized by high-level fluctuations and the volatility would be wilder than most expect, Lien said Demand for electronics, particularly semiconductors, continues to benefit from US technology giants’ effort
‘SWASTICAR’: Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s close association with Donald Trump has prompted opponents to brand him a ‘Nazi’ and resulted in a dramatic drop in sales Demonstrators descended on Tesla Inc dealerships across the US, and in Europe and Canada on Saturday to protest company chief Elon Musk, who has amassed extraordinary power as a top adviser to US President Donald Trump. Waving signs with messages such as “Musk is stealing our money” and “Reclaim our country,” the protests largely took place peacefully following fiery episodes of vandalism on Tesla vehicles, dealerships and other facilities in recent weeks that US officials have denounced as terrorism. Hundreds rallied on Saturday outside the Tesla dealership in Manhattan. Some blasted Musk, the world’s richest man, while others demanded the shuttering of his
RSS