China Shipbulding Industry: Ultra-large container ship to strengthen China's position in industry

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Europe

01:48

An ultra-large container ship has been officially christened COSCO Shipping Virgo.

Larger than an aircraft carrier, the vessel measures around 400 meters long and 60 meters wide, covering an area of four standard football fields.

But the massive ship only needs 22 crew members to operate, because of its automation technologies.

SHEN ZHONGYI CAPTAIN, COSCO SHIPPING VIRGO "The ship is so advanced and smart. On the screen, we can read all the navigation information, including sailing speed, direction, weather and yawing moment. We can operate the main engine here, and just one crew member is needed to do so."

The vessel has a cargo capacity of over 20,000 TEU. One TEU is equal to that of a standard 20-foot shipping container.

It is a lot more efficient in energy use compared to previous ones, although it's much larger.

YU LAI DEPUTY CHIEF ENGINEER, MARINE DESIGN & RESEARCH INSTITUTE "A previous 10,000-TEU ship could consume almost the same amount of oil as the 20,000-TEU one. Therefore, the average oil consumption for each unit has been reduced a lot, which means transport cost will be lowered accordingly."

The ship, assembled by Shanghai Wai-gao-qiao Shipbuilding, is one of the ultra-large container vessels that cross the threshold of 20,000-TEU. China now ranks among countries with the largest container ships.

WANG QI CHAIRMAN, SHANGHAI WAIGAOQIAO SHIPBUILDING "The 20,000-TEU container ship will be put into use along the major routes toward Europe, and play an important role in China's Belt and Road Initiative. Now we are building another six 21,000-TEU ships, and nine 22,000-TEU ships with double fuel engines. All these ships will strengthen China's shipbuilding industry."

Timothy Ulrich , CGTN.