First hybrid dual-purpose ship sets sail in Zhijiang

By Chen Si, Yichang International Communication Studio

China’s first hybrid dual-purpose vessel for inland waterways set sail from Yichang Shipbuilding Industrial Park in Zhijiang on September 22.

Photo by Xu Lu

It took the ship 120 minutes to get from the shore to the water. The 130-meter-long ship, which runs on both methanol and diesel, has a gross tonnage of 1,600 and a cargo capacity of 8,980 tons. Its maximum container capacity is 6,819 tons and 440 TEUs.

The ship was ordered by Minsheng Group, and Zhjiang Jiangrui Shipbuilding began its construction in March 2024. During that time, the shipbuilder was building eight hybrid container ships together.

Photo by Xu Lu

Minsheng Group, formerly known as Minsheng Industrial Co., Ltd., was founded in 1925 as the earliest shipping and logistics company by a private investor in China. It is now an important state-owned enterprise in Chongqing, providing comprehensive logistics services.

Zhijiang Jiangrui Shipbuilding settled in Zhijiang in 2010, in the Yichang Shipbuilding Industrial Park, one of Yichang's four shipbuilding bases.

Photo by Xu Lu

The vessel is the first to use structural methanol fuel tanks and the first container ship on the Yangtze River to carry mixed loads of extra wide and standard containers.

Photo by Xu Lu

With the launch of this vessel, Minsheng Group and Jiangrui Shipping Shipbuilding have become pioneers in the protection of the Yangtze River and the green and low-carbon development of China's inland navigation, according to the China Classification Society.