VESSEL REVIEW | COSCO Shipping Jixiang – First in new pulp carrier series for China's Qingdao Intercontinental Shipping

China's Huanghai Shipbuilding recently handed over the first vessel in a new series of two pulp carriers ordered from the company by local owner Qingdao Intercontinental Shipping.

Versatile cargo-carrying ability

COSCO Shipping Jixiang has an LOA of 201.8 metres (662.1 feet), a beam of 32.26 metres (105.8 feet), a depth of 19.3 metres (63.3 feet), a design draught of 12.5 metres (41 feet), a gross tonnage of 40,350, a deadweight tonnage of 62,000, and a service speed of not less than 13.5 knots.

The newbuild also features a box-type cargo hold that will be used primarily for the transport of wood pulp but may also be used for transporting grain, iron ore, steel coils, containers, rail vehicles, and large project cargo such as offshore wind turbine blades. The hold has a total volume of 72,500 cubic metres (2.56 million cubic feet) and is flat without a slope or steps.

Operations with reduced environmental impact

Dehumidification equipment is also available to help ensure the quality of the wood pulp cargo as it is being transported. Deck cranes will meanwhile facilitate self-loading and -unloading of up to 200 tonnes of cargo at a time.

The vessel's main and auxiliary engines are fitted with selective catalytic reduction (SCR) systems to ensure compliance with IMO Tier III NOx emissions requirements.

Another five pulp carriers from the same series are under construction for the same owner. All are classed by China Classification Society and will sail under the flag of Liberia.

COSCO Shipping Jixiang has since departed China on its maiden operational voyage, having left the Taicang International Container Terminal in Jiangsu Province with a final destination of Houston, Texas.