Rising to the offshore challenge

CHINA is slowly losing its competitiveness as a low-cost shipbuilding destination for the offshore and marine industry.

Moreover, with serious shipowners opting for quality over price, Chinese shipyards are likely to up their game as they can no longer compete on price alone.

"The Chinese yuan continues to strengthen against the US dollar and Chinese labour costs continue to rise faster than in many South-east Asian countries. The Chinese yards are thus trying to move up the value chain as the Korean and the Japanese yards did a generation ago," George Horsington, president of business development at Jaya Holdings, told The Business Times.

Despite credit tightening in China, yards there are still able to offer a…