Zhoushan Oriental International Maritime Service Co Ltd (Zhoushan Oriental) on Thursday (20 October) held a groundbreaking ceremony at the Zhoushan Hetai Shipyard to kickstart the construction of its 2.0 version of a 4,300 dwt bunker tanker to supply bonded bunker fuel. 

Zhoushan Port & Shipping Administration, Zhoushan Marine Safety Administration Of People’s Republic Of China, Zhoushan High Tech Industrial Zone Management Committee, Zhoushan Ship Inspection Center, Sinopec Zhejiang Zhoushan Petroleum Co., Ltd., and Zhoushan Communications Investment Group Co. Ltd. attended the ceremony.

In December 2021, Sinopec Fuel Oil Sales Co., Ltd. signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Zhoushan Communications Investment Group Co. Ltd to jointly develop comprehensive maritime services and build the 2.0 version bunker tanker.

According to the MoU, Zhoushan Oriental, which is part of the Zhoushan Communications Investment Group, took the lead in investing in the establishment of Zhejiang Free Trade Zone Orient Tongzhou Maritime Service Supply Co., Ltd., vigorously carried out market research and demonstration work, carried out ship optimisation design based on the first version of the barge, and improved the oil supply of Zhoushan outer anchorage. 

According to the Zhoushan Orient Maritime, the 2.0 version barge is an important starting point for promoting the international transformation and upgrading of Zhoushan marine fuel oil supply ships.

The Wuhan Rules and Research Center of the China Classification Society completed the research work on the improvement of the ship’s wind and wave resistance level, and has organised several ship design plan seminars and technical disclosure meetings to gather expert opinions. The ship design plan was continuously improved to form the final plan.

Compared with 1.0 version, there are six major upgrade:

1. It is equipped with double engines, double propellers, double rudders and bow thrusters , which greatly improves the ship’s manoeuvrability and slewability, and significantly improves the ship’s berthing capacity;
2. It is equipped with constant tension anchor winch, correspondingly increasing the breaking load of cable piles and greatly improving the safety factor of fuel supply operation under high sea conditions;
3. Strengthen the structural strength of the bow and stern anti-collision balls, increase the side-by-side spacing , and further improve the berthing safety;
4. The freeboard is designed to be more than 1.6 metres .
5. The layout of the bridge is optimised, and the panoramic bridge design is adopted so that the ship has a better piloting vision and improves the convenience of fuel supply operations.
6. 20 square metres are reserved on the starboard and starboard sides of the main deck for liquid cargo; the ship can carry about 40 tonnes of marine lube oil and can supply lube oil while supplying fuel. 

Disclaimer: The above article published by Manifold Times was sourced from China’s domestic market through a local correspondent. While considerable efforts have been taken to verify its accuracy through a professional translator and processed from sources believed to be reliable, no warranty is made regarding the accuracy, completeness and reliability of any information.

 

Photo credit: Zhoushan Oriental International Maritime Service
Published: 25 October, 2022