“Oriental Lavender” trial voyage. Photo by Wang Chao
On November 20, under the full escort of the Nantong maritime authorities, the 16000TEU ultra-large container ship “Oriental Lavender”, independently developed and designed by a Nantong shipbuilding enterprise, smoothly departed from the Jiangsu section of the Yangtze River to commence its trial voyage.
It is understood that the “Oriental Lavender” has a length of 366.99 meters, a width of 51 meters, a deadweight tonnage of 160,000 tons, and a maximum container capacity of 16,828 TEUs. It is currently one of the largest class of container ships capable of navigating the new locks of the Panama Canal. This ship type integrates multiple cutting-edge energy-saving technologies, and its energy consumption per container indicator reaches internationally leading levels.
Given the ship’s large dimensions, long undocking time, and significant use of the waterway, its departure operations would have a substantial impact on waterway traffic conditions. The Nantong Maritime Safety Administration established a special team to review the navigation safety assurance plan in advance and formulated a specialized escort plan. During the trial voyage, relying on the all-factor waterborne “traffic management” system, traffic organization and control were implemented, dispatching 10 patrol boats, tugboats, and guard boats for on-site escort, effectively ensuring the ship’s navigation safety in the complex traffic environment.
Statistics show that since the beginning of this year, with the strong support of departments including Nantong Maritime, more than 20 types totaling 127 ship and offshore engineering products have successfully completed trial voyages in Nantong, representing a 42.7% increase compared to the same period last year. (Li Yan, Sun Yan)
