VESSEL REVIEW | Beigang Canal 001 – Intelligent cargo ship demonstrator built for inland navigation

Chinese inland operator Xinggui Shipping has placed an LNG-fuelled combination container and bulk carrier into service. The ship was built to trial green and intelligent shipping technologies on the newly opened Pinglu Canal in Guangxi.

Beigang Canal 001 (北港运河001) is the first of the Beibu Gulf Port Group's Pinglu Canal demonstrator vessels to be classed by China Classification Society (CCS).

She is also the first Pinglu Canal demonstrator in Guangxi to receive the CCS i-Ship(N) intelligent navigation and i-Ship(E) intelligent energy efficiency notations, together with a Green Ship-3 rating.

Xinggui Shipping is part of the Beibu Gulf Port Group's Beigang Xijiang port business and led the vessel's development. CCS recorded Guangxi Xijiang Heavy Industry as the shipbuilder. Guangxi CSSC Beibu Gulf Ship and Offshore Engineering Design prepared the design.

Part of a new fleet of demonstrator ships

The vessel is one of four demonstrators in the group's first batch. The batch comprises two inland ships, Beigang Canal 001 and sister Beigang Canal 002, and two larger river–sea vessels of 6,800 tonnes intended for routes from Nanning to Fangchenggang, Beihai, Zhanjiang and Hainan.

The 5,000-tonne-class Beigang Canal 001 has a length of 89.9 metres (295 feet), a beam of 15.76 metres (51.71 feet), a moulded depth of 6.1 metres (20 feet), and a gross tonnage of 2,983. She can carry either dry bulk or up to 207 TEUs at full load.

The designers matched the canal's recommended navigation envelope. The account published for the near-identical Beigang Canal 002 said six ships of this size can share a single lockage in chambers with effective dimensions of 300 by 34 metres (980 by 110 feet) and eight metres (26 feet) of water depth.

A vertical bow was adopted to improve resistance performance. Collision-protection side compartments built into the hull improve resistance to sinking after damage.

LNG fuel guaranteeing reduced emissions

CCS treated the ship as an inland open-top container vessel and examined longitudinal strength, container securing, LNG tank positioning, and fire separation during design review.

The ship runs exclusively on LNG, which is supplied from an ultra-high-vacuum-insulated tank system.

The Beibu Gulf Port Group reported annual reductions of 23 per cent in carbon emissions and 92 per cent in NOx emissions and near-total elimination of SOx and particulate matter emissions compared to a
conventional diesel-powered ship.

The group listed core intelligent functions including an intelligent engine room; intelligent berthing and unberthing; assisted navigation; remote control; and autonomous energy use management.

Equipped for autonomous and remotely controlled navigation in addition to crewed operation

The steering system switches between follow-up, non-follow-up and automatic modes. Route planning meanwhile uses high-precision electronic waterway charts, with warnings for collision, grounding, route deviation and channel obstructions.

Optical cameras monitor channel targets within five kilometres (three miles), while radar coverage extends tens of kilometres.

The energy management system gathers real-time shaft-power, gas and electrical consumption data, using a shaft-power meter to measure propulsion output. Core engine room equipment is sampled at one-second intervals with immediate fault alarms.

A ship–shore link transmits navigation video and equipment data to shore-based dispatchers, and a maintenance platform assesses equipment condition and predicts faults, allowing for maintenance to be scheduled accordingly.

On September 10, the two inland demonstrators departed Guigang to inaugurate a Guigang–Pinglu Canal–Qinzhou container service.

Operators said the route saves one to two days per shipment over the previous routing through the Pearl River Delta.

After the canal opened on September 16, Beigang Canal 001 discharged 100 TEUs of limestone at Qinzhou before loading containers for Guigang.

The Beibu Gulf Port Group plans to use operating data from the vessel to refine coordinated lock dispatch and intelligent traffic management on the canal.