VESSEL REVIEW | Baochang – Long-range catch transport to support China's distant fishing industry

A new ocean-going refrigerated cargo vessel was recently delivered to China’s Tianjin Shengrun Shipping.

Baochang (宝昌) was designed by Zhejiang Xinhai Shipbuilding Design and Research Institute and built by Rongcheng Xinbang Shipbuilding.

The ship will be used primarily for the transport of freshly caught fish and other seafood from distant fishing grounds to China for later processing.

Significant frozen transport capacity and improved adaptability to harsh conditions

The newbuild has an LOA of 114.95 metres (377.13 feet), a beam of 17 metres (56 feet), a depth of 10.5 metres (34.4 feet), a deadweight of 6,400, and a refrigerated hold with a total capacity of 7,100 cubic metres (250,000 cubic feet).

The hold can maintain temperatures of as low as negative 35 degrees Celsius to better preserve the quality of frozen seafood when sailing over long distances. This then ensures premium fish and other seafood can command better prices, especially when being sold to overseas markets such as in Europe and the United States.

The ship was also built to have strong wind resistance to permit navigation even under extreme conditions. This means she can access distant fishing grounds within a greater weather window, thus allowing her to sail on more round trips in a year to maximise the volume of transported catch.

Part of a growing regional fish transport fleet

Energy-saving features meanwhile help reduce fuel consumption over the same sailing distances compared to most refrigerated cargo vessels.

The ship is powered by a Zichai 6N350ZLC-10 main diesel engine with a rated output of 3,000 kW (4,000 hp). The propulsion machinery also includes three Zichai 6120 600kW generators, which will provide stable and continuous power for the refrigeration plant and the other onboard systems.

As with most ships of her size, she is also equipped with a stern freefall lifeboat and a small fast boat to be used in MOB rescues.

The introduction of Baochang into service seeks to address the shortage of available refrigerated transport ships that operate out of Tianjin and other areas along China’s Bohai Sea coast.