VESSEL REVIEW | Xiangtaikou – Chinese operator adds versatile heavy-lift ship to fleet

Chinese shipbuilder CSSC Offshore and Marine Engineering Company (COMEC) has handed over a large, heavy-lift vessel to compatriot operator COSCO Shipping Special Transport.

Xiangtaikou has an LOA of 231.1 metres, a beam of 46 metres, accommodations for 49 crewmembers and other personnel, and a maximum deadweight tonnage of approximately 65,000. A propulsion system that consists of four 4,000kW medium-voltage generators enables the vessel to achieve a design speed of 13.6 knots and sail up to 20,000 nautical miles, allowing lifting and unloading operations to be carried out even in distant offshore waters.

Xiangtaikou is semi-submersible to a maximum draught of 27.5 metres and with the main deck 13 metres beneath the surface, thanks to the installation of 85 carefully positioned ballast tanks. This system will facilitate the carriage of disabled vessels and other buoyant cargo on the spacious aft deck, though Ro-Ro freight and non-buoyant cargo such as offshore platforms and wind turbine components may be loaded and unloaded normally in port without the need for submerging. A single dive/float operation can be completed in less than four hours.

A dynamic positioning system meanwhile ensures positioning to within 0.03 metres to allow greater precision during offshore installation activities.

The vessel also features a high degree of automation with over 10,000 alarm points that can detect even subtle changes in the vessel's operating parameters at any time. This capability enables the crew to make adjustments as necessary during manoeuvring and positioning.

Xiangtaikou was built by COMEC in compliance to China Classification Society's Ice Class B notation, which permits safe operation in very light ice conditions.