Chinese shipbuilder Dalian COSCO Shipping Heavy Industry recently delivered two new DP2-equipped, heavy-duty salvage and engineering vessels in a series to the Chinese Ministry of Transport.
Named Zhongren 121 ("Heavy Duty 121") and Zhongren 122, the newbuilds each have a length of 169 metres, a beam of 39.8 metres, a design draught of 7.5 metres, a deadweight of 12,000 tonnes, and a maximum endurance of 60 days. An IMO Tier III propulsion system delivers a speed of 14 knots.
Design work on Zhongren 121 and Zhongren 122 was done in compliance to China Classification Society (CCS) rules. The vessels will be operated by the Shanghai Salvage Bureau, which will employ them primarily for the transport of disabled vessels to port. They will also take on the secondary role of transporting the large steel components that are used in construction projects in the offshore oil, gas, and renewables industries.
Transport of vessels and cargo is via each ship's massive open deck, which has a total area of 5,300 square metres and a load capacity of 25 tonnes per square metre. CCS said the vessels' capacity to carry large deck cargo enables them to support the transport and installation requirements of more than 75 per cent of existing offshore platforms.
The vessels are also semi-submersible, being able to increase their respective draughts to 21.4 metres to facilitate the loading and offloading of large cargo.
| Zhongren 121 & Zhongren 122 | |
| SPECIFICATIONS | |
| Type of vessel: | Salvage and heavy-lift vessels |
| Classification: | China Classification Society |
| Flag: | China |
| Owner: | Ministry of Transport, China |
| Operator: | Shanghai Salvage Bureau, China |
| Builder: | Dalian COSCO Shipping Heavy Industry, China |
| Length overall: | 169 metres |
| Beam: | 39.8 metres |
| Draught: | 7.5 metres |
| Deadweight tonnage: | 12,000 |
| Maximum speed: | 14 knots |