COSCO readies second 700 TEU electric ship

COSCO SHIPPING Heavy Industry (Yangzhou) has started works on its second 700 TEU electric container ship (N998) owned by COSCO SHIPPING Development.

This containership represents a key project for COSCO SHIPPING Development to support the campaign of “carbon peaking and carbon neutrality” for the demonstration of green zero-carbon shipping.

Powered by portable container-sized batteries, the ship is a 10,000-DWT specific route river/coastal ship with an LOA of 119.8 metres, a molded beam of 23.6 metres, a designed draft of 5.5 metres.

The vessel also features two 900kW main propulsion motors, making it the most prominent electric container ship in the world.

Compared with conventional fuel ships of the same size, it can reduce carbon emissions by about 32 tonnes per 24 hours, according to COSCO.

The ship is also equipped with an intelligent ship platform system and a domestically advanced situational awareness system.

Last month, COSCO SHIPPING Ports Limited announced its first-quarter results for the Group’s subsidiaries for the period ending 31 March 2023.

Despite a 0.5 per cent YoY decrease in revenue to $328 million, the company saw an increase of 11.2 per cent YoY in gross profit to $89.9 million.