The Bohai Emerald Bead passenger and roll-on/roll-off ship, the largest in scale and the longest in travelling distance in China to date, started its maiden voyage on the morning of August 8, 2012 at the Yantai Port of east China’s Shandong Province.
The “Bohai Emerald Bead” is the first ship of its kind, and the three additional passenger and roll-on/roll-off ships with the same water displacement are now under construction, which all follow the national defense requirements.
Different from ordinary ships, the 36,000-ton-water-displacement civilian passenger and roll-on/roll-off ship was in accordance with the national defense requirements in its design and construction so that it can project organic troop units and heavy equipment.
According to the briefing, the 178-meter-long and 28-meter-wide ship can carry 2,000-plus persons and be loaded with over 300 vehicles of various sizes one time.
[mappress] World Maritime News Staff, August 10, 2012