Chinese yard starts construction of all-electric inland-capable containership

Tri Waters New Energy Technology, a subsidiary of China's Wuhu Shipyard, has begun construction of a new battery-powered container vessel capable of operating in both inland and deep-sea waters.

The vessel will be the first in a planned series of two to be built in fulfilment of a contract awarded to Tri Waters by local operator Zhonghuaizhou Shipping in July last year. Construction is being undertaken at Tri Waters' manufacturing base in Nantong.

The ship will have an LOA of 104.68 metres, a beam of 19 metres, a capacity of 400 TEUs, and ten containerised batteries with a total rated output of 20 MWh. The batteries will be able to propel the vessel to speeds of up to 10.8 knots.

Swappable batteries were selected to ensure faster turnarounds compared to charging of the batteries to full capacity while the vessel is at berth.

The ship will be operated primarily between the ports of Yangshan and Taicang.