On October 12, the first 25,900 DWT stainless steel chemical tanker built by Wuchang Shipbuilding for Junzheng Shipping was successfully launched. This marks the official entry of this series of vessels into the fast lane of batch construction, fully demonstrating Wuchang Shipbuilding’s exceptional strength and efficient pace in the field of shipbuilding.
The vessel has an overall length of 158.98 meters, a beam of 27 meters, a depth of 14.2 meters, and a design draft of 9.5 meters. With an endurance of 18,000 nautical miles and a speed of 14 knots, it possesses unlimited navigation area operational capability and is specifically designed for the transportation of chemicals and refined oil. The vessel excels in low energy consumption, high cargo capacity, and a high degree of intelligence. It also adopts a methanol-ready design, reserving space for future conversion to green fuels.
This series of vessels carries the mission of Junzheng Shipping’s green shipping upgrade, integrating dual breakthroughs in intelligent navigation and low-carbon operation: it has obtained smart ship certification, operates an efficient power system compliant with IMO Tier III standards, and is compatible with future methanol fuel conversion solutions, establishing a leading position in the green intelligent ship track.
During the construction process, Wuchang Shipbuilding fully leveraged mature experience from previous stainless steel chemical tankers, continuously promoted the optimization of the process system and innovation in construction models. By implementing advanced processes, it significantly improved construction precision and product quality, laying a solid foundation for building high-quality vessels. Facing a tight construction schedule, the project team practiced a “Four-in-One” collaborative mechanism, using forward-looking planning to drive technical preparation, efficient collaboration to ensure resource integration, and lean management to optimize the production process. By establishing on-site Party Member Vanguard Teams and technical support bases, rapid response and closed-loop problem handling were achieved, strongly ensuring the smooth attainment of the first vessel’s key milestones.
This vessel type is an important milestone for Wuchang Shipbuilding and Junzheng Shipping, based on years of sincere cooperation, jointly moving towards high-end, green, and intelligent development. This successful launch marks a new starting point for both parties to deepen strategic cooperation and jointly explore the high-end chemical tanker market. Wuchang Shipbuilding will continue to consolidate its advantages in rhythm-based construction, fully advance the on-time, high-quality delivery of subsequent vessels, and continuously strengthen its brand influence and core competitiveness in the global chemical tanker field.
On October 12, the No. 3 18,500 DWT refined /chemical tanker built by Wuchang Shipbuilding for the Greek company Athenian Sea Carriers successfully completed its departure from the shipyard milestone, formally entering the critical pre-delivery stage, marking a solid step towards final delivery for this vessel.
As of now, the progress of this series vessel project is efficient and orderly. Vessel No. 1 and No. 2 have been successfully delivered, and the overall project is steadily advancing at a rhythm-based construction pace, fully demonstrating Wuchang Shipbuilding’s efficient project execution capability in the field of series vessel construction.
This vessel type has an overall length of 149.8 meters, a beam of 22.8 meters, a depth of 12.7 meters, and a design draft of 8.5 meters. Its endurance is 10,000 nautical miles with a speed of 13 knots. This vessel type is an unlimited navigation area Type II & III refined /chemical tanker, mainly used for transporting refined oil and chemicals. Compared to similar vessel types, its performance parameters feature lower fuel consumption, higher speed, and greater loading capacity, making it a technologically advanced, green, and environmentally friendly new-generation refined /chemical tanker.
During the construction process, the project team systematically applied multiple innovative processes around key areas such as cargo tank special coating, piping systems, and high-voltage shore power systems, achieving technological breakthroughs and significantly improving comprehensive performance and construction efficiency. During project advancement, the team fully utilized the collaborative advantage of “Wuchang Shipbuilding as One”, solidified prior experience, optimized process flows, implemented lean production, and continuously improved construction quality and efficiency. During the mooring trials, the project team strictly implemented special test plans and, through a dual control mechanism of “daily meetings + special tracking”, conducted systematic commissioning of key equipment to ensure stable operation of all systems and full compliance of parameters. Throughout the trial process, close collaboration was maintained with the shipowner and classification society, establishing a rapid response mechanism to achieve timely closure of technical issues, laying a solid foundation for the vessel’s smooth departure from the shipyard.
In the next step, the project team will continue to uphold high standards and strict requirements, steadily advance subsequent sea trial tasks, fully ensure the high-quality delivery of the No. 3 vessel, continuously consolidate the rapid construction achievements of the series, and safeguard the successful conclusion of the project.
On October 10, the overall arrangement plan for the No. 3 9,200 DWT stainless steel chemical tanker constructed by Wuchang Shipbuilding successfully passed the review by various experts.
The vessel has an overall length of 118.00 meters, a beam of 19.50 meters, a depth of 10.50 meters, and a structural draft of 7.60 meters, with a design speed of 13 knots. The inner surface of the cargo tanks is made of 2205 duplex stainless steel. It is a refined /chemical tanker suitable for global navigation. The vessel meets Tier III emission requirements and smart ship requirements, enabling comprehensive monitoring of the vessel from shore. It is a new-generation high-end stainless steel chemical tanker that integrates technological leadership and environmental protection.
During the review process, the shipowner’s representative highly praised the vessel’s overall arrangement plan and commended the professional capability and collaborative spirit demonstrated by the Wuchang Shipbuilding project team. The expert panel provided optimization suggestions from multiple dimensions including user needs, ship design, construction practices, and safety regulations. These suggestions have all been incorporated into the subsequent implementation plan and will be systematically promoted for implementation.
As the third vessel in this series, the design team fully absorbed the construction experience from the preceding vessels and implemented continuous optimization and upgrades to the model: by integrating and optimizing the piping system around the main engine, the unit grouping rate and system integrity were effectively enhanced; potential issues during construction were addressed through preemptive discussions and the formulation of necessary auxiliary support measures; simultaneously, considering the shipowner’s cargo loading and unloading habits, the cargo oil system design was optimized to maximize the efficiency of simultaneous tank cleaning and dry tank operations, significantly improving the vessel’s operational economy.
The successful passage of this review lays a solid foundation for subsequent construction work, fully demonstrating Wuchang Shipbuilding’s continuously deepening technical accumulation and innovation capability in the design and construction of stainless steel chemical tankers.
