Construction starts on COSCO’s 2nd 700 TEU electric containership

Chinese shipbuilder COSCO Shipping Heavy Industry (Yangzhou) has started the construction of the second 700 TEU electric containership for compatriot COSCO Shipping.

As informed, the construction ceremony took place on 8 May in the presence of the shipowner, ship survey authority, maritime department, and shipyard.

Powered by portable container-sized batteries, the ship is a 10,000-DWT specific route river/coastal vessel. It features a length of 119.8 meters, a molded beam of 23.6 meters, and a designed draft of 5.5 meters.

Furthermore, the boxship is equipped with two 900kW main propulsion motors, making it the most prominent electric container ship in the world, according to the company.

Compared with conventional fuel ships of the same size, it can reduce carbon emissions by about 32 tons per 24 hours.

The ship is also equipped with an intelligent ship platform system and a situational awareness system, which will significantly improve the level of intelligence and safety of the vessel.

COSCO has nine yards capable of up to 7.5m dwt annual production across all major vessel segments and a significant global customer base.

The Chinese company has recently teamed up with Anemoi Marine Technologies, a UK provider of rotor sails to the shipping industry. The companies agreed to offer a turnkey installation solution to customers. Installation of Anemoi’s rotor sails will be available for newbuild vessels or retrofit during dry dock.