VESSEL REVIEW | Jiangyuan Baihe – Electric boxship built for China’s inland waters

Jiangsu Zhenjiang Shipyard has delivered the first all-electric inland container vessel to be built and operated in China.

Jiangyuan Baihe (“Jiangyuan Lily”) is owned by Jiangsu Ocean Shipping. The ship was designed by Wuhan Yangtze River Ship Design Institute according to the maximum navigation standard of the 80-kilometre-long, three-level channel of the Sunan Canal in Jiangsu province.

The newbuild has an LOA of 79.92 metres, a beam of 12.66 metres, a moulded depth of 3.6 metres, and capacity for 120 TEUs. The propulsion system is purely electric with 1,540kWh lithium iron phosphate batteries housed in three 20-foot ISO containers and driving a 600kW motor. This arrangement propels the vessel to speeds of up to 6.4 knots.

Charging of the batteries will take no more than 20 minutes and a single full charge will enable the vessel to sail up to 220 kilometres. Song Guosen, director of the Operation Management Bureau of the Jiangsu Provincial Department of Transportation, said the ship can help generate fuel savings of around 160 tonnes and CO2 emissions reductions of approximately 500 tonnes each year.

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