Tide turning for small shipbuilders and owners

After a week-long voyage along the Yangtze River in his new cargo ship, Chen Tao transported tons of rolled steel to Wuhan, Hubei province, from Shanghai before returning to his home in Huaibin county, Henan province, for a short vacation.

The freighter, which cost about 3 million yuan ($470,000) to build, has earned Chen net income of 150,000 yuan in a single quarter.

Chen, 28, spent 10 years working on cargo ships on the river, but this summer he took advantage of a range of favor-able financial policies and became one of the youngest shipowners in his hometown.