Electric survey ship launched in Yichang

By Yan Wanqin, Yichang International Communication Studio

"Hangdao 06202", the first fully electric survey ship on the Yangtze River, was officially delivered on December 12 in Zhijiang, Yichang.

Photo by Hubei Daily

The ship will be mainly used for survey work in the jurisdiction of the Yichang Waterway Authority, providing topography data and riverbed substrate hydrological analysis.

The ship is equipped with many advanced systems, including multi-beam echo sounders, an automated lifting device, an acoustic Doppler current profiler, a light detection and ranging (LiDAR) system, an unmanned survey ship and an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV). It provides accurate, reliable survey and mapping data.

The ship is 34.8 meters long and 6.5 meters wide. It is capable of sailing 150 kilometers on a single charge.

The Zhijiang Power Supply Company of the State Grid has invested 4.25 million yuan (US$600,000) to build a wharf for fully electric government-owned vessels. It has an 800 kVA special transformer, two 80 kVA shore power piles and a 500 kVA charging pile, with a maximum current of 750 amps. It can charge up two ships simultaneously.

"This is the first wharf reserved for fully electric government-run ships in the Hubei section of the Yangtze River. It’s a significant milestone in the development of Zhijiang shore power," said Li Xingheng, deputy general manager of a shore power operation service company in Yichang.

Zhijiang, located downstream from Yichang in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River, has 102 kilometers of shoreline. It has inherent advantages in the development of shore power. Major commercial wharves in the Zhijiang section of the Yangtze Basin have had access to onshore power supplies since 2020.