A tugboat that had been in service for more than two decades, with a starting bid of 9 million yuan, eventually sold for 16.22 million yuan after more than 420 rounds of intense bidding. This real-world transaction took place on Shandong Port's "Gangyunpai" platform, serving as a vivid illustration of the vibrant ship trading market in Qingdao.
Qingdao is currently accelerating the construction of a Northeast Asian international ship trading center, with new business forms in ship trading and port and shipping asset disposal continuing to expand. Against this backdrop, the "Gangyunpai" platform, created by Shandong Port, has grown into the largest online ship trading platform in northern China and the country's largest port and shipping asset disposal platform. To date, the platform has facilitated the transaction of 1,767 vessels, consistently ranking among the top in the nation.
Various new shipping business models and formats are being implemented and iterated, gradually addressing the shortcomings in Qingdao's high-end shipping services sector and injecting strong momentum into the construction of the Qingdao International Shipping Center.
From a 3.7 Million Yuan Starting Price to a Nearly 10 Million Yuan Deal: Old Vessels Become Hot Commodities
Old ships turning into sought-after items has become the norm on Qingdao's online ship trading platforms. Among the numerous transactions on "Gangyunpai," the intense bidding war for the 26-year-old "Asia No.1" tugboat stands out as a prime example. The tugboat, measuring 38 meters in overall length and equipped with dual main engines generating 3,678 kW of power, may be 26 years old, but its equipment remains in good working condition and still boasts impressive operational capabilities.
Once the vessel was listed, it quickly ignited market interest, with more than 10 professional buyers from across the country actively registering to participate in the auction, attracting thousands of online viewers. At 9:00 AM on November 26, 2025, the online auction officially began. Platform staff had initially expected a relatively calm competition, but the actual market dynamics proved otherwise.
"Within 70 minutes, various buyers took turns raising bids in fierce competition, with more than 420 cumulative bids placed, ultimately concluding at 16.22 million yuan—a significant premium over the 9 million yuan starting price," a staff member recalled.
The heated bidding was not an isolated case. In April 2025, the 21-year-old "Gangqing" tugboat was listed on the platform with a starting price of 3.7 million yuan. The project continued to attract industry attention after going live, with multiple professional buyers competing in more than 140 rounds of bidding before finally selling for nearly 10 million yuan. The entire transaction drew over 30,000 online views.
According to reports, a large number of vessels have found new owners through the "Gangyunpai" platform this year, including the "Zhangda 23," "Beilunhai 81," a 738-TEU foreign trade container ship, a 3600PS full-rotation tugboat, the "Donglei 2" tugboat, and the "Donglei 60" oil tanker. Just on September 8, two "three-no" vessels (ships without valid certificates, registration, and ownership) in Qingdao were successfully transferred on the platform for 444,000 yuan, more than 100,000 yuan above the starting price.
The online platform has not only revitalized domestic vessel inventory but also opened up new channels for cross-border ship trading in northern China. In 2024, a tugboat was listed with a starting price of 5.9 million US dollars. Initially, the transferor expected it to sell at the starting price. Unexpectedly, with domestic and international buyers bidding alternately, the price continued to climb, ultimately selling for 7.58 million US dollars—a single-transaction premium of 1.68 million US dollars. This marked the first cross-border online ship transaction in northern China, achieving a new breakthrough in the internationalization of ship trading in the region.
From port operation vessels to container ships and large oil tankers, and from domestic asset circulation to cross-border trade, the "Gangyunpai" platform has delivered impressive results across the board. A 249-TEU container ship sold for 6.64 million yuan, with the platform providing supporting export agency services and a fully transparent process to protect the interests of both buyers and sellers. A 3,500-ton oil tanker completed a cross-border transaction, smoothly connecting domestic and international trade channels.
According to Shandong Port staff, thanks to the market-based bidding mechanism, the platform's average premium rate for ship transactions currently exceeds 20%, effectively revitalizing idle assets and achieving optimal allocation of market resources.
47 Out-of-Town Heavy Trucks Listed in Search of Buyers
Ship leasing is another core business segment of the "Gangyunpai" platform. Leveraging its digital capabilities, the platform provides a one-stop service channel for shipowners and charterers, covering the entire process from information release, online negotiation, electronic contract signing, and rent settlement. It has innovatively introduced two models—incremental-price leasing and decremental-price leasing—to match different client needs, balancing maximum charter revenue with minimum chartering costs.
The platform's latest transaction records show that on August 20, 2026, Shandong Land-Sea Equipment Group's 13th ship chartering project for transporting railway track cranes started at a price of 2.6 million yuan. After multiple rounds of decremental bidding, the final transaction price was 2.26 million yuan.
"In June 2025, a port enterprise urgently needed to charter a vessel. Through the platform's decremental bidding process, a ship starting at 700,000 yuan went through 167 rounds of competition and ultimately was secured for 379,000 yuan—saving 321,000 yuan compared to the budget. From posting the demand to finalizing the deal took only 7 days, saving not just real money but also a significant amount of time," a platform staff member explained.
In addition to ship transactions, the disposal of various waste materials from ports is also one of the platform's key business areas. A search reveals that waste tires, waste steel wire ropes, scrap iron, waste electrical components, and waste rubber from various port enterprises are continuously being "cleared out" online through the platform.
According to staff, in 2025, a port enterprise had a batch of idle loading and unloading equipment that urgently needed disposal. The platform quickly completed preliminary work including asset evaluation and connecting with interested buyers. The online bidding started at 8,998,900 yuan and ultimately sold for 14,898,900 yuan, achieving a premium rate of 65.56%.
Beyond port and shipping assets, bulk commodities such as automobiles have also frequently appeared on the platform. On September 11, the platform issued an auction announcement for 47 hazardous materials transport vehicles from Weifang, all over 8 years old, to be listed for sale in a centralized manner, with each vehicle appraised at 120,000 yuan. According to staff, these heavy trucks are scheduled to officially go under the hammer on September 22.
Relevant officials from Shandong Port noted that the "Gangyunpai" platform adheres to deep integration of online and offline operations, building a fully transparent, modern transaction system. Online, it uses a digital platform to enable one-stop operations including vessel information release, bidding, contract signing, and fund settlement. Offline, it relies on professional teams to provide on-site vessel inspection, precise supply-demand matching, business negotiation, contract preparation, procedural assistance, and vessel delivery services. The coordinated online-offline approach clears bottlenecks in the circulation of port and shipping assets.
Five Years of "Matchmaking" Facilitating 1,767 Ship Transactions
Backed by the policy advantages of the Qingdao Pilot Free Trade Zone and Shandong Port's resource strengths, the "Gangyunpai" platform is reshaping the landscape of the northern ship trading market. "The platform is positioned as an integrated service provider combining ship trading and asset disposal, targeting the goal of building a Northeast Asian international ship trading center and creating a nationally leading port and shipping resource recycling system," said a Shandong Port staff member.
Compared to traditional offline trading models, the platform addresses multiple industry shortcomings by offering one-stop comprehensive services including ship trading, leasing, asset disposal, transaction certification, insurance, and financing, thereby establishing a complete port and shipping service ecosystem.
Since its official launch in 2021, after five years of dedicated development, the platform has become the largest ship trading platform in northern China, the largest engineering vessel leasing and tugboat trading platform in the country, and the largest port and shipping asset disposal platform nationwide. To date, the platform has served over 2,000 clients, completed 1,767 ship transactions with a total transaction value of 3.6 billion yuan, processed 2,286 batches of various port and shipping assets with a disposal value exceeding 600 million yuan, and helped preserve or increase asset value by over 260 million yuan cumulatively.
It is worth noting that the rapid rise of the "Gangyunpai" platform has become a vivid microcosm of Qingdao's efforts to address its long-standing weakness of "strong ports but weak shipping services." The Xinhua-Baltic International Shipping Centre Development Index Report (2026), released in July this year, shows Qingdao ranking 12th among global shipping centers, a steady climb from 15th in 2024 and 13th in 2025. This upward trajectory in Qingdao's global ranking is a strong testament to the continuous improvement of its soft power in high-end shipping services such as ship trading.
The previously released "Qingdao International Shipping Center Construction Mid-term Plan and 2035 Vision Goals" clearly proposes building a distinctive marine equipment trading and leasing platform. It supports ship trading platforms in actively exploring diversified business models, including pursuing qualifications for judicial auctions and asset evaluation, and seeking inclusion in the Supreme People's Court's national list of online service providers for judicial auctions. It encourages Qingdao Maritime Court to conduct ship judicial auctions through professional ship trading enterprises and supports mixed-ownership reform of ship trading companies by introducing strategic investors to enhance development vitality. It also calls for actively expanding transactions of offshore engineering equipment such as offshore wind power installation vessels.
Furthermore, the plan supports ship trading platforms in expanding services such as vessel price assessment, ship asset management, vessel technical condition evaluation, and ship brokerage. Leveraging financial license advantages, it aims to develop derivative services such as financing and insurance to enhance overall service capabilities. In the long term, depending on international market expansion, the plan considers applying for third-party payment licenses, building settlement platforms, and conducting domestic and cross-border settlement operations.
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