(Yicai) Aug. 12 -- Shares of Rainbow Heavy Industries surged by their daily trading limit after the Chinese manufacturer of port and offshore‑engineering equipment secured a contract worth as much as CNY3.3 billion (USD489 million) to build six live fish carriers for a European customer.

Rainbow Heavy [SHE: 002483] climbed 10 percent to close at CNY5.75 (85 US cents) per share in Shenzhen today.

Rainbow Heavy’s subsidiary Rainbow Offshore and Engineering Equipment signed the contract with a well-known European shipowner to build six LFCs with a capacity of 4,500 cubic meters each, including an option for more ships, its Nantong-based parent company announced yesterday.

The contract follows a similar breakthrough by CIMC Raffles Offshore Engineering, which revealed in May that it had won an order from Pelican Aqua Holding, which serves northern Europe’s salmon farming industry, to build four 5,000 cu m LFCs, with the option for six more. That deal was the first LFC order awarded to a Chinese shipyard by a customer from northwestern Europe.

Rainbow Heavy’s contract will take effect after the shipyard receives the first payment, with vessel deliveries scheduled to begin in phases starting 29 months after the contract becomes effective, RHI said, adding that the total price of the six carriers is between CNY2.8 billion and CNY3.3 billion.

Rainbow Heavy did not reveal the name of the buyer, but said it has not done business with Rainbow Offshore before. An image shared by the company showed that the client is Norwegian aquaculture services provider Frøy.

“The successful award of this order not only strengthens its strategic partnership with the customer, but also manifests the company’s robust strength in the field of high-end offshore,” Rainbow Heavy said.

LFCs have higher requirements for aquatic animal welfare, biological safety, operational efficiency, and environmental protection than standard ships, making them one of the most advanced categories of equipment used in modern aquaculture.

Editor: Futura Costaglione