VESSEL REVIEW | Qiaoyuan – Large survey catamaran to support Chinese offshore energy and construction sectors

China's Taizhou Shipbuilding Enterprises has completed construction of a new catamaran vessel to be used for conducting geological surveys that would support projects in the offshore energy and marine construction sectors.

Qiaoyuan (桥苑号) was designed by the Bridge Survey and Design Institute of China Railway Construction Corporation (CRC). According to Chinese media, she is the largest survey vessel by tonnage to be built in China.

The newbuild has a length of 76.36 metres (250.5 feet), a beam of 23.8 metres (78.1 feet), a displacement of 2,537 tons, accommodation for up to 36 crewmembers, and a range of 100 nautical miles, which translates to an endurance of 60 days. Wu Gang, Deputy Director of the Bridge Survey and Design Institute, said that Qiaoyuan’s range is around ten times that of CRC’s earlier generation of survey vessels, allowing operations to be conducted much further offshore.

Longer-ranged and more capable complement to operator's existing survey fleet

The endurance will also permit long-term, deep-sea exploration with a reduced need for intermediate resupply while the catamaran design will guarantee both stability and safe operations under Beaufort Force four conditions, thanks to its 40 per cent roll reduction capability.

These attributes will enable the vessel to collect more accurate geological data from the seabed as a prerequisite for offshore and marine civil construction projects to safely commence.

Full self-contained drilling and testing setup

The vessel is fitted with offshore drilling equipment and downhole CPT in-situ testing equipment, all of which have been domestically developed as a cost-saving measure. The vessel will be able to complete in-situ tests with borehole depths up to 500 metres (1,600 feet).

Six laboratories have also been incorporated to permit various testing and sampling activities to be undertaken on board, thus reducing reliance on external dedicated facilities.

The vessel has a maximum drilling depth in excess of 1,000 metres (3,300 feet). The drilling setup itself boasts a wave-compensating gimbal system to ensure stable and accurate drilling. The designers said centimetre-level drilling accuracy is possible, thus resulting in a sampling success rate of greater than 90 per cent even under harsh offshore conditions.