China’s COSCO Shipping has expanded its fleet with the recent acquisition of a new bulk carrier built by affiliate COSCO Shipping Heavy Industry.
Guoliang Sea is the sixth vessel in a series of bulk carriers developed primarily for large-scale grain transport, though they may also be used to transport other types of cargo such as containers and heavy equipment.
The newbuild has a length of 229.95 metres, a beam of 32.26 metres, a draught of 10 metres, a depth of 21 metres, a deadweight of 80,000, and a total hold capacity of 95,486 cubic metres.
The propulsion system consists of a DMD-MAN B&W 6S60ME-C10.5 HPSCR main engine that delivers a service speed of 15.5 knots. The propulsion arrangement can be configured in the future to permit operation on methanol, thus further reducing the ship’s emissions.
Guoliang Sea was built in compliance with China Classification Society requirements including those under the cyber security and loading computer notations. The ship will be leased and operated by COSCO Shipping Bulk Transport on major grain routes.