China’s first and the world’s largest all-electric intelligent container ship, named “Ning Yuan Dian Kun”, started its maiden voyage from the Beilun Port Terminal to the Zhapu Port Area of Jiaxing Port on the afternoon of April 15.
Quiet and intelligent
On the deck of the ship, one can only hear the sea breeze accompanied by the gentle sound of water flowing, rather than the roaring of machinery.
To Wang Ting, the captain with over 20 years’ working experience, this is his first time to be at the helm of an all-electric intelligent ship. “Compared with the fuel-powered ships I used to operate, the biggest difference when operating this new ship is that it’s as quiet as if it’s not even moving”, said Wang Ting. The crew used to be prone to fatigue when working a long time with the main engine in the engine room roaring loudly. Now, the ship basically sails silently, creating a more relaxing working atmosphere, allowing the crew to focus more on operations.
With a length of 127.8 meters and a width of 21.6 meters, the ship is larger than four standard basketball courts combined and has a capacity of 742 TEUs, equivalent to transporting nearly 5,000 tons of cargo at once. Its core part consists of 10 standardized container batteries with a total storage capacity of approximately 20,000 kWh, equivalent to the combined battery capacity of 300 household electric vehicles, sufficient for an ordinary household car to travel for 100,000 kilometers in succession.
According to a person in charge from Ningbo Ocean Shipping Co., Ltd., upon the commissioning of the ship, it is expected to save 580 tons of fuel annually and reduce carbon dioxide emissions by over 1,400 tons, which is equivalent to the carbon dioxide absorption of 40,000 mature trees in a year, and almost the environmental protection effect achieved by a forest covering an area of 20 football fields.
The “intelligent brain” of the “Ning Yuan Dian Kun” ship is also eye-catching. “It is able to perceive the surrounding navigation environment in real time, automatically plan the optimal route, provide early warning and automatic collision avoidance in case of danger, and achieve one-click berthing when docking”, said Wang Ting. The ship is equipped with core technologies for autonomous navigation in open waters, enabling seamless switching between manual and intelligent driving, which not only reduces the operational burden on crew members but also fundamentally lowers the probability of human operational errors. This intelligent solution fills the technological gap in the intelligent control and management of domestic 10,000-ton all-electric seagoing ships and sets a new benchmark for global coastal intelligent shipping.
Advantageous and promising
As the largest container liner enterprise in Zhejiang Province, Ningbo Ocean Shipping Co., Ltd. plans to conduct a trial voyage for the “Ning Yuan Dian Peng” ship (a sister ship to the “Ning Yuan Dian Kun” ship) in May this year and deliver it in June. In the future, the two vessels will operate side by side, creating a scale effect. In the view of Qian Genfeng, Deputy General Manager of Ningbo Ocean Shipping Co., Ltd., the all-electric ships conform to the general trend of green transformation in the global shipping industry and are also a specific action in response to the national “dual carbon” strategy.
Qian explained that there are three main reasons for choosing the route between Ningbo and Jiaxing for the maiden voyage: the moderate voyage distance and stable schedule are suitable for the regular operation of all-electric ships; the port infrastructure in Ningbo and Jiaxing is mature, which facilitates the construction of energy replenishment facilities; and it has strong demonstration significance, laying a foundation for the subsequent promotion of pure electric ships on more coastal routes.
The ship has obvious advantages in terms of economic benefits. Although the initial investment in pure electric ships is higher than that in fuel-powered ships, the energy and maintenance costs of operation will decrease significantly, especially in such short-haul, high-frequency routes, where the cost advantage will become increasingly prominent. More importantly, as more and more international customers pay attention to carbon emission indicators in supply chains, green shipping capacity has become one of the core competitiveness of enterprises. “We focus not only on costs, but also on development and strategy”, said Qian Genfeng.
The maiden voyage of the “Ning Yuan Dian Kun” ship not only marks a new stage of pure electric driving and intelligent navigation for China’s coastal container transportation, but also provides strong support for Ningbo-Zhoushan Port to deepen its collaborative development with such ports as Shanghai Port, in its efforts to build a global hub for green shipping.
