VESSEL REVIEW | Encounter Flowers and Birds – Fast tour boat for operation in China's Shengsi Islands

A new high-speed sightseeing vessel has commenced operational sailings off the city of Zhoushan in Zhejiang province in Eastern China.

Encounter Flowers and Birds (相遇花鸟; Xiangyu Huaniao) was built by Zhejiang Kailing Shipyard for operation in the Shengsi Islands in the East China Sea off Zhoushan by Shengsi County Tongzhou Passenger Steamship. Design work was undertaken by the Wuhan Institute of Technology Shipbuilding in compliance with China Classification Society rules.

The vessel is named after Huaniao (which also translates to “Flower and Bird Island”), the northernmost island in the Shengsi Archipelago and one of her two main destinations.

High transit speed coupled with enhanced comfort

The newbuild boasts a steel hull, an aluminium superstructure, an LOA of 49.9 metres (164 feet), a beam of eight metres (26 feet), a draught of only 1.85 metres (6.07 feet), a depth of 3.55 metres (11.6 feet), and space for 122 passengers plus 12 crewmembers.

The design work that went into the vessel emphasised optimisation to ensure structural integrity while keeping the displacement as low as possible and reducing vibration and noise.

To improve onboard comfort, acoustic elements have been incorporated in the interior spaces while two gyrostabilisers are fitted, thereby ensuring smooth and fast navigation under a range of sea conditions. There is also ample spacing between seats and in the aisles to more easily permit movement.

The propulsion arrangement consists of three main engines driving an equal number of propellers. Because of her high transit speed of just over 30 knots, the vessel can cover the one-way distance between Huaniao and Shenjia Bay Island in 90 minutes, whereas the older vessels that served the route could cover the same distance in no less than two and a half hours.

Multi-use floating venue

In addition to serving sightseeing tours, the vessel may also be operated as a floating venue for corporate events, live performances, and private gatherings such as weddings, hence the incorporation of a multi-function main deck room and an upper deck VIP lounge for eight people.

Some of the interior partitions are made of glass to allow as much light as possible to pass through. Luggage racks are also installed.

The seats in the main passenger cabin are each equipped with a small table and a charging port, while a storage box is fitted between adjacent seats. This area of the vessel also has tempered glass windows with pull-down curtains and VR headsets for use by passengers.

Among the other onboard facilities are a bar and a toilet that has been laid out to have an appearance similar to that of a toilet on a high-speed train. Wuhan Nanhua Industrial Equipment Engineering was responsible for the interior decorative design work as well as engineering general contracting, lighting installations, and supply of the control consoles and power distribution equipment.