East China's Jiangsu Province -- one of China's rare water-rich provincial-level regions -- is stepping up efforts to build and put into operation more electric container ships for inland river transportation so as to accelerate a shift to green transportation with steady reduction of carbon emission.
In Jiangsu, the surface runoff is enormous, and a tremendous quantity of water transits the province annually through its myriad rivers, streams, and canals. The province's waterway transportation accounts for 62 percent of its turnover of highway, railway, waterway and air transportation. Therefore, a shift to the use of pure electric ships in waterway transportation is a feasible route for Jiangsu to go green.
"The power system of electric ships displaces the shafting and generators of traditional fuel-powered ships, and therefore leaves more space for the layout adjustment of the engine room," said Xu Guizhong, deputy general manager of Zhenjiang Shipyard (Group) Co., Ltd, Jiangsu.
The first 120 TEU pure electric inland container ship in China left the container terminal of Taicang Port on the Yangtze River in October and was put into operation in the 80km section from Taicang Port to the port of the Suzhou Industrial Park on the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal, marking the arrival of the "pure electric era" of inland river transport in Jiangsu.
With a speed of 17 km per hour and an endurance of 220km, the electric container ship, Jiangyuan Baihe, is 79.92 meters long and 12.66 meters wide, making it currently the largest pure electric inland container ship in China.
"It takes three days on average for the ship to complete a round-trip sailing, which, based on our statistical data, basically meets the design standards for such ships, and the ship sails relatively smoothly. In terms of economic benefits, the ship is expected to save 500,000 yuan (71,000 U.S. dollars) for fuel consumption and reduce about 500 tons of carbon dioxide emissions every year," said Dai Wei, general manager of Jiangsu Ocean Shipping Co., Ltd.
It is estimated that by 2025, more than 17 pure electric inland container ships will be put into operation in Jiangsu, forming six "zero carbon" container routes, covering the Jiangsu sections of the Grand Canal.
Source: CCTV
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