CSBC Corporation, Taiwan, formerly known as China Shipbuilding Corporation, is a company that produces ships for civilian and military use in Taiwan. It is headquartered in Kaohsiung, with shipyards in Kaohsiung and Keelung. It was a state-owned enterprise before privatization via an IPO in 2008.
History
CSBC Corporation, Taiwan is the result of the merger of Taiwan Shipbuilding Corporation and China Shipbuilding Corporation. Taiwan Shipbuilding began in 1937 during the Japanese colonial period when Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Corporation founded the Taiwan Dockyard Corporation. Following Japan's defeat in World War II, the Republic of China authorities established Taiwan Machinery and Shipbuilding Company by merging the existing Taiwan Dockyard Corporation with Taiwan Steel Works and Tōkō Kōgyō Corporation. Two years later, in 1948, the company split into two state-owned companies called Taiwan Machinery Corporation and Taiwan Shipbuilding Corporation. China Shipbuilding Corporation was founded in 1973 and reverted to a government-owned company in 1977. CSBC and TSBC merged in 1978 and was known as China Shipbuilding Corporation until 2007. On 9 February 2007, the board approved the name change to Taiwan Shipbuilding Corporation with immediate effect, with a ceremony to take place on February 12 to commemorate the name change. Critics argued that the name change was another case of President Chen's desinicization act, while proponents argued that the name change would help to avoid potential confusion with China. In 2008 CSBC’s production value reached 1.131b USD, 54% of Taiwan’s total shipbuilding industry output for that year. According to its website, the company has built container ships, one-of-a-kind commercial ships and semi-submersible heavy-lift transport ships, including the. Furthermore, it has built ships, submarines and advanced naval weapons for the Republic of China Navy, patrol vessels for the Coast Guard Administration, and research vessels for the Taiwan Ocean Research Institute. CSBC is participating in the development of the first domestic Taiwanese AUV. In 2018 CSBC entered into an alliance with Yang Ming Marine Transport Corporation, Taiwan Navigation Co Ltd, and Taiwan International Ports Corporation to provide marine services to Taiwan's burgeoning offshore wind power sector. CSBC has a joint venture with DEME Wind Engineering to offer wind farm construction in East Asia. In 2019 they were hired by Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners to transport and install wind turbines at two new wind farm off Taiwan. The two wind farms have a combined capacity of 600MW and are expected to be completed by 2023. CSBC has been contracted to build eight conventional attack submarines for the Republic of China Navy. The model featured an X-form rudder. The initial project contract is for US$3.3 billion with projected procurement costs of US$10bn for a fleet of ten boats. CSBC is set to deliver ten 2,800 TEU container vessels to Yang Ming Marine Transport Corporation between January 2020 and February 2021. In July 2019 CSBC launched the CSBC No. 15, a barge designed to support CSBC’s offshore wind power business. The barge has a loading capacity of 23,000 metric tons and a loading deck bearing strength 20 metric tons per square meter. It is 41 meters wide by 140 meters long and cost NT$700 million to build.
As of 2019 ship repair accounted for 3–5% of CSBC revenues, with the company working to increase that share because of favorable margins in the space. In 2019 CSBC Corp. completed a green retrofit of a 13,000 TEU container ship owned by Orient Overseas Container Line. Modifications included a flue gas desulfurization system to bring the ship into compliance with United NationsIMO 2020 emissions goals.
Popular culture
CSBC and one of its ships is featured in episode two of the National Geographic Channel’s Superstructures: Engineering Marvels.
