China builds ships and sails far away

"In 2022, China's shipbuilding capacity utilization monitoring index is 764 points, an increase of 22 points compared with 2021, reaching the highest point in nearly 10 years." China Shipbuilding Industry Association secretary General Li Yanqing said.

Innovation-driven, future prospects are promising

Put on the 3D glasses, you can be there. In the digital exhibition hall of Jiangnan Shipbuilding Company of China Shipbuilding Group, the reporter "walked into" a highly simulated "digital ship" and had a panoramic view of the situation inside the cabin.

"With the 'virtual and real' experience, designers can conduct a comprehensive and in-depth analysis of the performance and process of the entire ship." Whether the location of each component is suitable, whether it is convenient for later maintenance, and whether the temperature, sound, light and air flow of each cabin are comfortable and pleasant can be checked in advance at the design stage." Jiangnan shipbuilding deputy general manager Lin Qingshan said.

In recent years, with the in-depth promotion of digital transformation, the design cycle of Jiangnan Shipbuilding has been significantly shortened, and the construction efficiency has been greatly improved. According to Lin Qingshan, in the past, it took 28 months on average to build a large 20,000-box container ship, but now it takes only 16 months.

Since last year, shipping enterprises have firmly grasped the "bull nose" of innovation and promoted the industrial level to a new level

New breakthroughs were made in high-end equipment. In 2022, 24,000 TEU container ships, 174,000 cubic meters of large LNG carriers and other high-end ship types will be delivered in batches. Marine engineering equipment such as the 100,000-ton smart fishery large-scale aquaculture ship and the fourth-generation jack-up wind power installation ship were delivered.

Green powered ships are growing rapidly. In the whole of last year, the proportion of green powered ships in the new orders received by Chinese shipping enterprises reached 49.1%, reaching the highest level in history.

The application of domestic supporting products is accelerating. Li Yanqing made a specific introduction to reporters: "On the one hand, the loading rate of domestic Marine main engine, Marine boiler, Marine crane, Marine gas supply system and other supporting equipment continues to increase. On the other hand, Marine high-end steel development capacity continues to increase, large container ship crack plates to achieve domestic replacement, chemical Marine duplex stainless steel localization rate increased from less than 50% to more than 90%."

Demand is booming, orders are sufficient, and production is busy. At present, many shipping companies are running at full speed and stepping up construction.

Jiangnan Shipbuilding opened a new construction model of "double docking and double lines" in February this year. On the limited berth resources, adding new product lines and coordinating the node cycle of multi-type ships will effectively improve the rhythm of ship construction. This year, Jiangnan Shipbuilding plans to complete six batches of 20 ships out of dock, the number of ships out of dock more than double last year.

Hudong is pushing ahead with plans to double the capacity of LNG carriers. At present, the shipyard, workshop and supporting facilities of the second phase of Changxing Shipbuilding Base have been in prototype, which is planned to be completed and put into operation this year and next year.

Waigaoqiao Shipbuilding will usher in the first year of complete delivery of the three types of products, cruise ship, civil ship and Marine engineering. "It is expected that 23 ships will be delivered in the whole year, and the output value will increase by 40% year-on-year." Waigaoqiao shipbuilding general manager Chen Gang said.

We will strengthen weak links and speed up industrial upgrading

The Waigaoqiao shipyard in Shanghai's Pudong district is bustling with large ships under construction just after the Lunar New Year holiday. Among them, the most eye-catching is undoubtedly the first domestic cruise ship with a total length of 323.6 meters and a height of about 24 stories.

Large cruise is the only high value-added ship type that has not been conquered in China. Since the launch of the first large-scale cruise ship in October 2019, Waigaoqiao Shipbuilding has conquered key design technologies such as cruise weight control and safe return to port through the introduction of digestion and independent innovation.

All kinds of pipeline laying, equipment system debugging, interior decoration speed up the progress, at present, the first domestic cruise ship is in full gear to step up construction. By the middle of February this year, the project progress has reached 87%, the entire ship is expected to be out of dock in the middle of this year, the end of the named delivery.

"In the next few years, China's shipping enterprises will usher in the peak of shipping. 2023 to 2024 is the centralized delivery period of large container ships, and 44 large container ships of 15,000 TEU and above are scheduled to be delivered. From 2025 to 2026, the delivery period of large LNG carriers is concentrated, and many companies are constructing large LNG carriers for the first time." Li Yanqing suggested that shipping enterprises comprehensively strengthen production planning and material supporting management, adhere to quality first and safety first, and ensure that ships with orders are delivered on time.