World’s First Self-propelled Transport-installation Ship for Immersed Tubes Ready for Service

YIHANG JINAN 1, the world's first integrated self-propelled transport-installation ship for immersed tube, recently undocked in Guangzhou, Guangdong province and will work on construction of the Shenzhen-Zhongshan Passage.

YIHANG JINAN 1 is a 190.4-meter long and 75-meter wide twin-hulled vessel. The area of its deck equals that of two football fields.

The ship has a self-propelled function and is installed with two sets of 9,280-kilowatt main propulsion systems and eight high power thrusters, the size and power of which both rank tops in China.

It can pull a 165-meter and 72,000-ton standard immersed tube at 9.26 kilometers per hour in deep and still water and can resist a 2.96 km/h transverse flow.

With the participation of YIHANG JINAN 1, many difficulties like long-distance transportation of immersed tubes and channel dredging during construction of the Shenzhen-Zhongshan Passage will be solved.

In addition to reducing tube transportation time and the closing time of the routes, fewer auxiliary vessels will be needed as YIHANG JINAN 1 is capable of multiple functions, which saves construction costs.

Independently developed by CCCC First Harbor Engineering Co. Ltd., the ship also integrates transportation, location, immersion and installation of the immersed tubes and is equipped with a dynamic positioning system and a tracking function.

The company has currently obtained a national patent for the ship in China and has applied for an international patent.

The ship will improve the company's technical advantage and impact in the immersed tunnel industry.

It is also a milestone in the manufacturing of special ships for tube immersion during underwater tunnel construction as it brings strong installation capacity, high accuracy of immersion, high efficiency of construction and the most advanced technology.

YIHANG JINAN 1, the world's first self-propelled transport-installation integrated ship for immersed tubes, recently undocked in Guangzhou, Guangdong province and will be used to construct the Shenzhen-Zhongshan Passage. [Photo/China Communications Construction Company Limited]

(Executive editor: Hao Wen)