VESSEL REVIEW | Gezhouba – Battery-electric cargo ship enters service on Yangtze River

A battery-electric cargo vessel with a maximum deadweight of 13,740 has entered commercial service on the main stem of the Yangtze River in China.

Gezhouba (葛洲坝) was designed by the Wuhan Yangtze River Ship Design Institute and built by Yichang Zigui Huaxing Shipyard in Hubei province.

Three Gorges Electric Energy, part of China Yangtze Power within the China Three Gorges Corporation Group, led the project, with participation from domestic research organisations.

The vessel is intended for service between Jingzhou and Ezhou on the middle Yangtze.

Swappable batteries for faster turnarounds

The designer has describe Gezhouba as the world's first battery-only inland vessel in the 10,000-tonne class for container and bulk cargo transport. The ship obtained all statutory operating certificates in August before commencing commercial operations.

The newbuild has an LOA of 129.98 metres (426.44 feet), a moulded breadth of 22 metres (72 feet), a moulded depth of 7.7 metres (25 feet), and a design draught of 6.5 metres (21 feet).

Energy is stored in 12 containerised lithium battery units with a combined capacity of approximately 24,000 kWh.

China State Shipbuilding Corporation's (CSSC) 712 Research Institute supplied the core electrical power system. Each unit is a standard 20-foot high-cube container integrating batteries, distribution and control equipment, temperature control and fire protection, and can be handled by ship, shore and vehicle equipment.

The batteries are swapped rather than recharged aboard. CSSC said that a single swapping can take as little as 10 minutes and that the vessel has a range of 500 kilometres (300 miles) on a full charge. The company projected annual savings of 617.5 tonnes of diesel and a 2,052-tonne reduction in CO2 emissions.

A combined charging and battery exchange station in Zigui was still being developed in October. Under the plan, cranes will lift depleted containers ashore and replace them with charged units.

Wuhan Weimai New Energy Power produced the battery containers. Battery monitoring and fault diagnosis are integrated with a heptafluoropropane fire extinguishing system in the compartment.

A distributed DC integrated power system feeds the propulsion motors, with 24 redundant supply paths available to each motor. Propulsion is by a 70,000N·m-class permanent magnet, direct drive motor developed by Donghu Laboratory and Changhang Group Wuhan Electric Motor.

Fitted with intelligent monitoring and autonomous/remote navigation systems

Gezhouba also integrates intelligent energy efficiency management, machinery space monitoring, an integration platform, navigation control and remote operation.

Communications run over 4G, 5G and satellite links, supporting shore-based remote navigation, automatic berthing and unberthing, and autonomous collision avoidance. According to the 712 Research Institute, the vessel is China's first inland bulk carrier to hold both the i-Ship(R1) and i-Ship(Nn) additional notations.

The ship was launched at Zigui on October 19, 2025, and named four days later in Yichang before entering outfitting. Conventional navigation trials were completed on June 12, 2026, in the Taipingxi waters upstream of the Three Gorges Dam.

Intelligent ship trials, including remote control, followed on June 30 on the Guizhou section of the Yangtze under escort from Yichang maritime authorities.