Three Gorges Dam lock transit time reduced by 40 minutes
2023-05-22 17:05:56
By Zeng Lei, Yichang International Communication Studio
In order to prepare for the upcoming flood season, the water in the Three Gorges Dam reservoir is lowered. This allows the Dam operator to keep the highest ship locker level open, skipping one step of the lock pass through, saving around 40 minutes for every ship going from the upper to lower stream of the Dam.
The normal storage level of the Three Gorges Dam is 175 m. To account for the upcoming flood season, the Dam operator has increased the discharge flow, reducing the water level in the reservoir.
At 8 am on May 18, the water level dropped to 153.61 m, close to the 145 m low-end limit of flood control season. The low water level has enabled the Yangtze River Three Gorges Navigation Management Bureau to adjust the operation of the Three Gorges Locks.
Previously, when water levels were high, ships from the upper stream would enter a five-level ship lock, the highest being the First Floor, and sail to a lower level as the operator reduces water levels “step by step.”
Now that the upper stream water level has been lowered and the First Floor door is kept open, ships can skip one step. This reduces the total time spent on passing through the ship lock to 190 minutes.
From the beginning of the year till May 17, more than 16,000 ships have passed through the Three Gorges Dam locks from both directions, up 13 percent year-on-year. In this same period, 4,300 batches of ships have gone through the ship locks from both directions, up 15 percent from a year ago.
In order to prepare for the upcoming flood season, the water in the Three Gorges Dam reservoir is lowered. This allows the Dam operator to keep the highest ship locker level open, skipping one step of the lock pass through, saving around 40 minutes for every ship going from the upper to lower stream of the Dam.
The normal storage level of the Three Gorges Dam is 175 m. To account for the upcoming flood season, the Dam operator has increased the discharge flow, reducing the water level in the reservoir.
At 8 am on May 18, the water level dropped to 153.61 m, close to the 145 m low-end limit of flood control season. The low water level has enabled the Yangtze River Three Gorges Navigation Management Bureau to adjust the operation of the Three Gorges Locks.
Previously, when water levels were high, ships from the upper stream would enter a five-level ship lock, the highest being the First Floor, and sail to a lower level as the operator reduces water levels “step by step.”
Now that the upper stream water level has been lowered and the First Floor door is kept open, ships can skip one step. This reduces the total time spent on passing through the ship lock to 190 minutes.
From the beginning of the year till May 17, more than 16,000 ships have passed through the Three Gorges Dam locks from both directions, up 13 percent year-on-year. In this same period, 4,300 batches of ships have gone through the ship locks from both directions, up 15 percent from a year ago.
Ships lining up to form a batch to go through the Three Gorges Dam locks.
