Reporter learned from the Hubei Provincial Port and Shipping Development Center on the 13th that the promotion and application of green-powered vessels in Hubei has accelerated. As of the end of April this year, the total number of green-powered vessels in the province reached 337, ranking among the top in the country’s inland waterways.
Hubei is a major province in the inland shipbuilding industry. The province has launched the “Thousand-Sail Plan” to promote the large-scale development of green and intelligent ships, aiming to achieve the construction, renovation, and renewal of over 1,000 inland green and intelligent ships by 2030. Currently, the Huahang New Energy series of green fleets have been put into operation, and more than 40 liquefied natural gas single-fuel bulk and container dual-purpose vessels have been built.
Hubei continues to expand the application scenarios of green-powered vessels. The Yangtze River Xing Lan Yue inter-provincial resort cruise ship has been put into service on the classic Three Gorges route. Ten pure electric vessels have been put into operation on the Lishui Jiangping River in Hefeng County, and the first pure green-powered water tourism route in Enshi Prefecture has been opened.
The province has upgraded its green-powered vessel inspection services, optimized the training and deployment mechanism for vessel inspectors, and enhanced the supply capacity of green-powered vessel inspection services. Vessel inspection agencies in Wuhan, Huanggang, Yichang, and other places have assisted in the “early completion, early certification, and early operation” of more than 200 green-powered vessels under construction through measures such as deepening factory inspections, strengthening daily patrols, and organizing technical seminars.
At the same time, Hubei is accelerating the layout of recharging infrastructure and promoting the construction and use of shore power at ports. Currently, the number of berths with shore power supply capacity in the province has increased to 576. The Yangluo Port charging and swapping station operates stably, effectively supporting the regular operation of pure electric container ships on the 150-kilometer route from Wuhan to Xiantao. The two LNG filling stations in Yichang and Ezhou operate safely. As of the end of March this year, they have refueled 189 vessels with a total volume of 2,224.2 tons, representing year-on-year increases of 244% and 380%, respectively.
