China has launched a 25,000-cubic-meter-class trailing suction hopper dredger (TSHD), the first in the country to adopt a distributed pump system. Designed by the China State Shipbuilding Corporation's 708 Research Institute, the vessel can dredge to depths of up to 120 meters and has a hopper capacity of approximately 27,580 cubic meters. The dredger is expected to enter service later this year for port dredging, sand extraction and coastal engineering projects.