On October 18, Chengxi Shipyard CSSC held the groundbreaking ceremony for the world’s first deep-sea green intelligent technology test vessel.
The ship is jointly invested by Taihu Laboratory of Deepsea Technological Science and Lianyungang Center of Taihu Laboratory of Deepsea Technological Science, and constructed by Chengxi Shipyard CSSC, classed by CCS, with the port of registry in Lianyungang, and is planned to be delivered at the beginning of 2025. The ship has an overall length of 110.8 meters, a beam of 20.0 meters, a displacement of about 7,000 tons, a design speed of 15 knots, an endurance of 10,000 nautical miles, a crew of 80, and the ability to navigate around the world with unlimited navigable area.
The ship is capable of performing the following three major functions:
- Intelligent devices, equipment and systems for offshore testing and verification and demonstration applications;
- Demonstration and validation of key technologies for deepsea equipment;
- Operational security for deepsea scientific experiments.
The test vessel applies China’s first set of domestic intelligent medium-speed engines and MarineNet, an intelligent information system independently developed by Taihu Lake Laboratory, which can realize a variety of intelligent functions such as intelligent navigation, energy-efficiency optimization, health management, safety control and ship-shore cooperation, and support the “collection, storage, calculation, management and use” of the whole life cycle data of the whole ship, including human-machine-materials. The ship can realize the convenient adding/changing and dynamic testing functions of key components, equipment and systems of the ship.
In addition to providing an offshore test and verification platform, the vessel adopts all-electric propulsion, double propellers and double rudders, bow/stern double side thrust, full-speed sway-reducing fins, and DP-2 class power positioning system, which features good seakeeping, maneuverability, and high reliability. The ship is equipped with the most advanced and complete offshore test and operation guarantee system, underwater acoustic system, moon pool system, lifting fin system, multidisciplinary and multi-functional laboratory and highly integrated data center, etc. It has the functions of deployment and recovery of deep and distant sea equipments, transportation and storage, surface and underwater detection, communication and positioning as well as test commanding and scheduling, which is capable of meeting the needs of various types of deep and distant sea equipments for test and test certification, maneuvering and operation guarantee, and is known as “the most advanced and most advanced ship in China”. It can meet the needs of various types of deep and distant sea equipment for sea trial certification, mobile loading and operation guarantee, and is known as a “mobile sea laboratory”.
At present, the realization of independent research and development of marine equipment and key supporting equipment has become an inevitable choice for China’s shipbuilding industry to seize the industry’s commanding heights. As a test and verification platform for domestic ship and sea equipment, the Deepsea Green Intelligent Technology Test Vessel is able to fully assess the performance, functionality, efficiency and reliability of ship and sea equipment under actual sea conditions and ship application conditions, successfully opening up the “last kilometer” of independent research and development and localized application.