9,200 vehicle spaces! The ‘BYD Changsha’ sets sail!
On 27 June, the Hong Kong-registered car carrier ‘BYD Changsha’ safely departed from the China Merchants Heavy Industry Haimen Base Terminal under the guidance of the Nantong Pilotage Station, embarking on its maiden voyage to Taicang.
The ‘BYD Changsha’ is the first 9,200-vehicle dual-fuel car carrier built by China Merchants Industry Haimen Base for BYD Co., Ltd. The vessel is 219.9 metres long, 37.7 metres wide, with a designed speed of 19 knots, featuring 16 decks and accommodating 9,200 standard vehicle parking spaces.
It is reported that the vessel employs the latest LNG dual-fuel clean propulsion technology, capable of using LNG, conventional fuel, and biofuel, and holds the DNV ‘Ammonia Fuel Ready and Battery Ready’ classification symbol.
Currently, during the flood season, water levels are high and currents are swift. The Haimen Zhaoshang Heavy Industry Terminal is located adjacent to anchorages, ferry crossings, and waterways where shipping lanes converge, with a high volume of vessel traffic and a complex navigation environment. Considering the vessel's wide hull, large windage area, and significant blind spots in all directions, the Nantong Pilotage Station took the application seriously, intervened early, and implemented a ‘one-ship-one-plan’ precise pilotage service.
First, they seized the ‘tide window,’ choosing to depart the berth within a short time before low tide to avoid the peak vessel flow entering the channel, meeting the port of destination's requirement for starboard berthing, and achieving the vessel's ‘first-time’ departure; Second, the station coordinated with maritime authorities, navigation channels, the shipowner, agents, and tugboats to assess safety risks, develop safe and reasonable berthing and unberthing plans and emergency response measures, implement safety measures, and dispatch technical experts to lead the operation; Third, the station strengthened shore-based support, fully utilising CCTV, pilotage monitoring systems, and the Nantong VTS monitoring point to monitor the vessel's movements in real time and ensure the safety of operations.
Going forward, the Nantong Pilotage Station will fully leverage its pilotage technical advantages, actively fulfil the ‘Eight Service Commitments’ for Yangtze River pilotage, and contribute pilotage support to the development of Nantong's marine engineering equipment industry.
Disclaimer: This article is reprinted for the purpose of disseminating more information. If there are errors in the source attribution or if it infringes upon your legal rights, please contact us with proof of ownership, and we will promptly correct or remove it. Thank you.