The world's first 41,800-ton bidirectional sailing self-discharging ship delivers in East China’s Jiangsu Province on July 21. Photo: Guo Yuandanz/GT

China has delivered the world's first 41,800-ton bidirectional sailing self-discharging ship in East China’s Jiangsu Province on Tuesday, the Global Times learned. The ship is independently designed and built by a Chinese shipbuilder, and the delivery marks a breakthrough for China in the high-end self-unloading and cargo transfer vessel sector, transitioning from the stage of “following others” to “taking the global lead.” It also embodies the prowess of China's independent innovation in shipbuilding industry.

The vessel has an overall length of 215 meters, a moulded breadth of 42 meters, a moulded depth of 14.5 meters, a design draught of 7.5 meters, and a deadweight tonnage of 41,800 tons. It features a large cargo hold approximately 135 meters in length with a capacity of 29,000 cubic meters.

The vessel has set three new world records in one go. It is the world's largest deadweight shallow-water transshipment self-unloading ship, the world's fastest self-unloading ship in terms of discharge speed among specialized vessels, and the world's first self-unloading transshipment ship in its tonnage class with bidirectional sailing capability, the Global Times learned from the shipbuilder. 

The vessel was built by a subsidiary of China State Shipbuilding Corporation (CSSC), CSSC Chengxi Shipyard Co, for multinational mining company Rio Tinto Group. Rio Tinto has placed five orders for the vessel, and Tuesday’s delivery marks the first one, while the second and third vessels were launched on May 6 and June 30, and are expected to be delivered during the first half of next year.

The vessels will be deployed in the waters off Guinea in West Africa to serve the Simandou Iron Ore Project, providing critical support for the stable production and transshipment of iron ore, Zhang Xinlong, general manager of CSSC Chengxi Shipyard Co, told the Global Times.

The Simandou Iron Ore Project is a key project in economic and trade cooperation between China and Guinea, and a significant achievement of the joint construction of the Belt and Road Initiative. Once fully operational, the project will supply massive volumes of high-grade iron ore to the global market each year, according to Zhang.

Global Times