VESSEL REVIEW | Zhuhai Ocean 001 – Chinese operator places emergency response mothership into service
China’s Jianglong Shipbuilding recently delivered a new emergency response and monitoring vessel to the Zhuhai Municipal Ocean Development Bureau, the agency responsible for environmental protection in the city of Zhuhai in Guangdong province.
Zhuhai Ocean 001 (珠海海洋001; Zhuhai Haiyang 001) will be operated primarily as a mothership for unmanned vessels.
The newbuild has a steel/aluminium composite superstructure, an LOA of 41.6 metres (136 feet), a beam of seven metres (23 feet), and a depth of 3.9 metres (13 feet).
Fitted with data-gathering equipment and drone facilities
The propulsion arrangement, which consists of three 1,641kW (2,200hp) main engines driving three propellers as well as three rudders, can deliver a maximum speed of 27.3 knots and a cruising speed of 25 knots.
The vessel also features water quality sampling equipment, hydrometeorological equipment, cameras, and facilities for housing, deploying and recovering unmanned vehicles. The vessel will use the unmanned vehicles to support emergency response functions such as search and rescue and disaster prevention and control.
Laid out for extended-duration operations
The onboard facilities include a conference room and a mess, allowing personnel to operate offshore for extended periods.
Zhuhai Ocean 001 will be operated primarily in the waters off Guangdong.
