Recently, China State Shipbuilding Corporation (CSSC), through its subsidiary Shanghai Ship Research and Design Institute, officially signed a contract for the design and construction of China's first and the world's largest two 740TEU all-electric open-top container ships for Ningbo Ocean Shipping Co., Ltd. This marks the entry of China's coastal container ship operations into an era of zero-emission, all-electric operation, and is a milestone in implementing the country's "dual carbon" strategy, promoting green, zero-carbon high-quality development of China's shipping industry.
The ship model showcases the design concept of "energy-saving, environmental protection, economy, efficiency, and intelligence" (4e1i), and its appearance and shape fully demonstrate environmental and technological sense, which is expected to become a benchmark ship model in the market.
The ship will be built by Jiangxi Jiangxin Shipbuilding Co., Ltd., with a total length of 127.8 meters, a width of 21.6 meters, and a designed draft of 6.2 meters, capable of sailing in domestic coastal areas, with the target route being Ningbo-Zhapu, and classified by the China Classification Society (CCS).
The entire ship has about 740 standard 20-foot container positions, with a deadweight tonnage of more than 9000 tons. The ship has 4 cargo holds and 7 hatches, all of which are designed without hatches to reduce loading and unloading time and berthing time; the stern is equipped with an electric propulsion cabin, which has one more cargo hold than conventional power ships, with a larger cargo space; the bow is also specially equipped with a wind-resistant upper structure, which can effectively reduce vibration and noise, and improve the comfort of the crew's work and life.
At the same time, it is equipped with 10 box-type batteries as the power source, totaling about 19,000 kilowatt-hours. The ship fully considers the safety of the battery, equipped with a multi-level structure of the battery management system. The layout of the box-type battery is away from the living quarters and cargo area, with a well-ventilated surrounding environment.
In addition, it also uses a light binding bridge for fixing, with an anti-fall collision platform set on the top, and a photovoltaic system equipped on the platform, which can provide renewable energy for the ship. The battery power system is considered redundant, which can maintain effective propulsion in fault mode and return to the nearest port. A comprehensive energy management system is set up to operate the power station load reasonably and efficiently. When the ship docks at Zhapu and Ningbo ports, it can be quickly charged through high-voltage shore power or lifting box-type batteries.
In particular, the ship is equipped with an intelligent system integration platform, with functions such as real-time ship's surrounding view, all-weather navigation visual perception, route planning, unmanned driving, autonomous collision avoidance, and driving mode switching. The shore operation and maintenance center can monitor the ship's equipment in real-time and can be remotely controlled, bringing a new experience to the ship's operation and navigation.
The ship adopts a twin-engine and twin-propeller propulsion, enhancing the maneuverability in complex waters. The propulsion system is equipped with two 875-kilowatt permanent magnet synchronous propulsion motors, with a maximum speed of 11.5 knots, achieving zero emissions during operation and berthing and loading and unloading.
Lithium batteries, as a clean energy source, are optimistic about their place in future energy. With the construction of supporting facilities such as charging stations, this ship model can greatly improve endurance and is expected to produce more application scenarios, further enhancing diversified carbon reduction levels.