Yanmei Shipbuilding Ltd.
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| File:TBA.png | |
| Subsidiary | |
| Industry | Defence Marine engineering Shipbuilding |
| Founded | 1954 |
| Headquarters | , |
| Products | Submarines |
| Parent | Dalian Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering |
Yanmei Shipbuilding Ltd., formerly known as the Yanmei Shipyard Co. up until 2016, is a subsidiary of the Dalian Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering corporation responsible for the development and production of submarines. The company's primary facilities are located in the city of Yanmei, Chilokver.
History
Originally founded out of the industrial development of Yanmei's port in 1954 as Shipyard 204, the organisation would be responsible for the construction of Hulie's first nuclear submarine, the Shangdi. The shipyard would continue to be instrumental to the Huliean nuclear submarine programme, developing and producing the Jörmungandr class, Qinglong class and Yuanshi class submarines.
Following the overthrow of the Communist Party of Hulie in 1965, state-owned organisations and enterprises began to be privatised which led to the transformation of Shipyard 204 into the Yanmei Shipyard Co. As with other key defence enterprises, despite the public offering of the majority of the company's stock, the government retained control through possession of golden shares and veto power. Throughout the 1970s and 80s, Yanmei Shipyard shifted its focus towards the civilian market and construction of commercial vessels, first targeting the domestic market before later expanding to international orders in the late 80s. During this decade, Yanmei Shipyard constructed over 100 vessels; including sea and harbor tugs, small bulk carriers, pontoons and barges. Despite this diversification and move away from reliance on government contracts however, Yanmei Shipyard continued to prosper as the nation's sole designer and builder of nuclear submarines. Submarines of the Zeus class and Sól class would also be constructed exclusively by the Yanmei Shipyard. The dockyards would see an extensive reconstruction and the installation of Hulie's largest covered slipway in 1972 for this purpose.
Nevertheless, the company's military projects would soon be characterised by financial difficulties and delays. In the years immediately following the Second Huliean Civil War, Yanmei Shipyard would be accused of poor workmanship in the construction of the Leviathan-class submarines. While no explicit evidence could be found supporting these accusations beyond discrepancies in inspection records, the Grand Chilokveri Navy (GCN) which succeeded the Huliean People's Liberation Army Naval Force (HPLANF) refused to pay the shipyard until it was satisfied that all quality issues had been fixed. In any case, the newly formed GCN was itself suffering from budgetary issues in the aftermath of the civil war. The Navy eventually settled and agreed to continue funding construction when it appeared the introduction of the Leviathan-class into active service was expected to fall behind schedule.
In a similar case, Yanmei Shipyard was contracted to conduct repair and modification work on the aircraft cruiser Strike to convert her into a conventional STOBAR aircraft carrier. The ship was in worse condition than originally expected, and the project ran into repeated cost overruns and delays until indefinitely postponed by the Navy in 1995.