China’s first liquefied natural gas clean energy powered drag suction dredger was launched in Qidong city, Jiangsu province. Let’s take a close look.
SS New Sea Sturgeon, the 15 thousand cubic meter liquefied natural gas clean energy powered drag suction dredger, was built by Shanghai Zhenhua Heavy Industry Qidong Marine Engineering Co., Ltd.
Measuring 155.7 meters long and 32 meter wide with full load draft of 9.9 meters, this ship has a maximum mud hold capacity of 17 thousand cubic meters, equivalent to six international standard swimming pools.
As the world's largest and China’s first liquefied natural gas clean energy powered drag suction dredger, SS New Sea Sturgeon has filled the gap in the application of clean energy in dredging ships in China. The overall performance parameters such as load capacity coefficient, cabin capacity coefficient, and navigation specific power have all reached the leading level in China and even the world.
“Under the same working conditions, this ship can save 20% in fuel costs compared with dredgers of the same specifications, and improve construction efficiency and time utilization by nearly 15%,” said Fan Zhongfa, Secretary of the Party Committee of Zhonggang Dredging Co., Ltd. of China Communications and Shanghai Navigation Bureau.
“This ship can achieve ‘one click dredging’ and ‘unmanned dredging’ functions, which means it requires one person to handle the unmanned dredging, greatly reducing the number of operators,” said Sun Xiangnan, Project Manager of Shanghai Zhenhua Heavy Industry Qidong Marine Engineering Co., Ltd.
SS New Sea Sturgeon will be used for dredging, reclamation, and coastal maintenance projects in coastal ports and deep-water waterways, which is of great significance for promoting the development of green shipping in China.
