On August 20, the launching ceremony for the 37,000-ton asphalt tanker (W23111) built by Wuhu Shipyard for the UAE’s TEODOR SHIPPING company was successfully held at berth No. 2 of the Weihai base. Qi Yong, Northern Regional Manager of Bureau Veritas, Qin Liming, General Manager of Weihai Wuchuan, Tu Haifeng, Deputy General Manager, Liu Mingming, Assistant General Manager, and other relevant leaders attended the ceremony.
The vessel has an overall length of 179.9 meters, a beam of 30.6 meters, a depth of 16.8 meters, and a deadweight tonnage of 37,000 tons. It is currently the world’s largest asphalt tanker by deadweight tonnage. The cargo tank system utilizes two high-efficiency thermal oil boilers, ensuring the asphalt cargo maintains a constant temperature of 180°C during transport, thereby effectively guaranteeing cargo safety and transport efficiency. This vessel is also a green, environmentally friendly, intelligent, and energy-efficient ship, constructed using eco-friendly materials to reduce environmental pollution from the source, truly achieving the goal of green, low-carbon, and environmentally friendly navigation. Simultaneously, it incorporates multiple intelligent technologies, making it an upgraded vessel that aligns with the future development trends of the shipping industry.
For the 37,000-ton asphalt tanker, through innovative improvements in anchor drag test technology, SolidWorks 3D modeling design software was used to create a 1:1 3D model of the ship’s anchor, anchor hawse, anchor platform, and bow hull. In practical terms, computer simulation is conducted in a virtual environment, eliminating the need for physical operations and the associated risks to personnel and equipment, thus ensuring the safety of the experiment. Environmentally, it produces no adverse impact on the environment, contributing to more sustainable engineering practices. From a design perspective, it allows for extensive testing and optimization, reducing modifications and adjustments needed during the final implementation phase. Theoretically, it achieves the dual goals of cost control and technical optimization, effectively lowering the overall cost of shipbuilding and significantly enhancing the shipyard’s efficiency, paving a new path for subsequent large-scale shipbuilding projects.
To ensure the vessel was launched on schedule, Weihai Wuchuan relied on a team spirit of “global coordination and collaborative攻坚 (assault on difficulties),” organizing the Equipment & Power Department and the Block Assembly Department as the main forces, and forming a technical攻坚 matrix with multiple departments including Quality Assurance. The Equipment & Power Department conducted comprehensive debugging and maintenance of all equipment required for the launch. Based on the ship’s characteristics and the technical requirements for launching, they worked through two nights to successfully complete the 37,000-ton vessel’s launch. The Block Assembly Department, with a high degree of professionalism and rigor, meticulously planned and precisely executed the assembly of all parts of the vessel. They rationally arranged the assembly sequence and timeline, ensuring the assembly process efficiently passed key milestones through data collection and real-time comparison, promptly intercepting and closing out quality deviations to safeguard the launch. The Quality Assurance department established a full-process quality traceability system. Through data collection and real-time comparison at key nodes, they timely intercepted and implemented closed-loop handling of quality deviations. Ultimately, Weihai Wuchuan achieved an outstanding performance of “zero accidents, zero delays,” not only ensuring the vessel entered the water safely and on time but also achieving environmental indicators such as volatile organic compound emissions and noise control that surpassed industry standards, fully realizing the goal of green construction. This achievement provides technical assurance for energy saving and emission reduction throughout the vessel’s lifecycle and demonstrates the company’s strategic resolve and sense of responsibility in practicing marine ecological civilization construction.
In the future, the Weihai base will unwaveringly uphold the core development philosophy of “unity and拼搏 (hard struggle), pragmatism and innovation, excellence and efficiency,” closely integrating with current industry trends and洞察 (insightfully observing) changes in market demand with a global perspective. “Using orders to attract the chain,” it will actively strive to secure more high-end vessel orders, focusing on attracting more core suppliers to establish themselves in Weihai. “Strengthening the chain with technology,” it will position technological innovation as the core driving force for enterprise development, focusing on mass production and the development of high-value-added products, striving to become a leader in the modern shipbuilding industry and a practitioner of intelligent manufacturing and high-quality development.
