Over 100 years and five generations of uninterrupted ship building, Cheoy Lee’s unwavering commitment to dependable products and service endures. Originating from Shanghai, Cheoy Lee is the embodiment of the Lo family’s tradition to advance their craft, continually creating new chapters in the chronicle of this iconic institution.
The roots of the Lo family’s shipbuilding journey reach back to the 1870’s, although it was in 1936 that the family business moved to the then British colony of Hong Kong, marking the start of the Cheoy Lee Shipyards that we know today. Initially specializing in mechanizing sail powered cargo vessels during World War II, by the mid-1950’s Cheoy Lee had diversified into the production of teak sailing and motoryachts, mostly built for export to America. Come the 1960’s, this now burgeoning pleasure craft division of Cheoy Lee accounted for 90% of all production from the yard.
Expansion of the shipyard was required, and it was at this time that the Penny’s Bay site in Hong Kong was established. As a pioneer in the development of fiberglass as a boat building material, Cheoy Lee recognized the savings in weight, greater strength and longevity that this new material offered. Constantly investing in research and improving production techniques, Cheoy Lee honed their fiberglass capabilities to become a forerunner in the marine use of GRP (and foam sandwich) construction. In 1977, Cheoy Lee built the world's largest molded fiberglass yacht of its time, the 130 foot motorsailer Shango II, and by 1979 the first all foam cored production motor yacht came online; the Cheoy Lee 48’ Sport Yacht. With outstanding hull design from the visionary naval architect Tom Fexas, coupled with the vacuum bagged foam cored laminates, this model was revolutionary, even breaking into the patrol boat sector, technologically superior and markedly outperforming rival yacht and patrol craft at the time.
In parallel with the construction of composite yachts, Cheoy Lee commercial vessels continued to be built predominantly in steel and aluminium, and the 1990’s saw a strong resurgence of Cheoy Lee commercial vessel output. At the end of that decade, Cheoy Lee relinquished the Penny’s Bay site that had been home for some 35 years, to take advantage of the skilled and competitive labour that existed just across the border in China. By the end of the 1990’s, the entire shipbuilding operation had been moved to Zhuhai in southern China, just 45 miles to the west of Hong Kong. The Penny’s Bay site meanwhile was transformed into what is now Hong Kong Disneyland.
Cheoy Lee maintains the head office and small repair yard in Kowloon, Hong Kong, with all construction now carried out at the Zhuhai facility. Cheoy Lee will continue to keep advances in technology in sharp focus, and above all, remain dedicated to production of the highest quality products, with service to match.
