On November 28, the No. 4 dock of Jiangnan Shipbuilding welcomed its sixth batch of undockings for the year. This batch involved the undocking of two complete ships and the floating-up of two half-ships.
To ensure the on-time completion of the sixth batch of undockings from the No. 4 dock for the year, the construction team developed plans in advance, striving to minimize risks and ensure synchronized improvements in the rhythm production of “PV synchronization” and the dock status for this batch. This achieved a switch iteration in multi-line, multi-rhythm construction. The complete ships undocked in this batch were the 99,000 cubic meter very large ethane carrier (VLEC) “GAS IRIS” (H2720) and the 9,000-car-carrier “ANJI LUCK”.
The “GAS IRIS” is the fourth ship in the series of 99,000 cubic meter VLEC 2.0 version ships built by Jiangnan Shipbuilding for Tianjin Xinan Maritime. Building on the construction experience from previous ships, this ship achieved the formation of four cargo holds and the hoisting of two liquid tanks before floating-up. The outfitting completion rate reached 94%, helping the ship achieve the “531” target for this undocking. This target, based on achieving “Five Zero Clears” (clearance of hull welding and assembly, engine room painting, main deck room interior outfitting, gas chamber work, and liquid tank epoxy pouring), “Three Network Connections” (piping network, electrical network, and information network), and generator readiness for testing, meant that before undocking, the engine room generators were debugged; the liquid tank area achieved epoxy clearance; and the painting of the compressor room exterior plates in the deck area was completed.
Multiple breakthroughs further advanced and implemented debugging work during the dock stage, laying a good foundation for shortening the harbor construction period and accelerating the subsequent production rhythm.
The “ANJI LUCK” is the final ship in the series of 9,000-car-carriers built by Jiangnan Shipbuilding for Anji Logistics. The construction team fully absorbed the experience from previous ships, solidified the direction for undocking targets, and beyond completing the undocking items, proactively addressed long-lead items such as garage ramp /engine room area completeness. This laid a solid foundation for the subsequent comprehensive harbor mooring tests and keeping pace with the construction rhythm of the series ships.
On the same day, the second ship (H2777) in the series of 99,000 cubic meter VLEC 2.0 version ships built by Jiangnan Shipbuilding for Pacific Gas Carrier successfully achieved half-ship floating-up. The construction team planned thoroughly, adhering to the philosophy of “each ship better than the last” throughout the entire ship construction. The main engine in the engine room area was hoisted, the engine room was sealed, and the shaft and propeller were installed; the full-width deck was over 95% hoisted. In the liquid cargo area, this ship is the first to be equipped with Jiangnan Shipbuilding’s self-developed “Brilliance®” B-type tank featuring the PnFCOMBi insulation system. This marks Jiangnan Shipbuilding completing a key part of the “Brilliance®” cryogenic containment system and also lays the foundation for the next step of advancing to a “Brilliance®” cryogenic containment system suitable for LNG. It realizes the independent research and development and engineering application of the insulation system, laying a solid foundation for the development of Jiangnan Shipbuilding’s B-type tank technology towards larger scale and lighter weight.
The simultaneously floated 93,000 cubic meter VLAC (Very Large Ammonia Carrier) is the world’s first ship of this hold capacity. It achieved the floating-up “123” target: the main engine room was sealed, the liquid tanks were hoisted, and three deck block sections + units in the deck area were integrally hoisted; the shafting installation was complete, the engine room status was improved, and cable laying reached 90%; concurrently, improvements in the new rudder system epoxy process accelerated the rudder system installation, laying the foundation for dock testing of the steering gear.
It is reported that this batch of undockings is the final batch for the year from Jiangnan Shipbuilding’s No. 4 dock, marking the successful conclusion of the No. 4 dock’s production tasks for the year. The construction team will continue to actively plan, constantly improve existing production processes and technologies, steadily enhance comprehensive strength, and welcome the first batch of undockings next year with a meticulous and conscientious work attitude, striving for greater progress on the existing foundation.
