First Delivery in the Year of Dragon

      Recently, Wuhu Shipyard successfully delivered the second 7800T MPV in cooperation with the Finnish shipowner Langh Ship Oy Ab! It is also the first vessel to be delivered by Wuhu Shipyard this new year. This delivery highlights the depth and breadth of the friendly cooperation between each other, and also demonstrates the spirits of diligence, efficiency and hard work of the Wuhu Shipyard’s project team.

     The construction of this multi-purpose vessel is complicated, which requires a high degree of technical and coordinating ability at all stages. The company's project team applied their knowledge and experience during the design and fabrication process to ensure that the quality and performance of the vessel reached the international advanced level.Various technical issues have been solved smoothly, and all strict requirements of the shipowner have been met accordingly. Their hard work and high efficiency laid a solid foundation of this smooth delivery.

     The pre-erection of the vessel is the most attracting part of the whole ship construction process.

     Reasonable planning in the pre-erection stage. By summarizing the construction process of the first vessel of 7800-ton series, the project team optimized the pre-erection mode so that the grand blocks finalized from 12 to 5 (including the accommodation section), and realizing the modular construction of the whole vessel.

     In line with the pre-erection mode, the grand block of the cargo hold to be zero-allowance assembled. Before that, the site of the erection was fully calculated and reasonably fixed. The unified center line and unified baseline were used to locate the blocks, and the margin was cut after the grand block was welded. It can realize the zero-allowance assembly on the slip, save the usage time of the crane, and reduce the use of scaffolding and high-altitude vehicles.

     Realization of complete grand block of engine room and that of the forward section at the stage of pre-erection where the integrity of the structures to be maximum achieved , which not only saves the time of the shaft alignment on the slipway and painting for the outer plate at the later stage, further to shorten the cycle of slipway, but also benefits the relevant data gathering regarding the integrity of the grand block of the engine room  which could provide a strong basis for the subsequent vessels shaft alignment on the platform during the pre-erection.

     Optimizing the pre-erection of the accommodation section, to erect the grand block of the accommodation and the poop deck block, which not only contributes to realizing the early installation of the equipment in the lower layers of the accommodation, but also providing sufficient guarantee for the integration of outfitting and painting for the whole accommodation section.

     LNG tank was lifted, located and installed at one time: after summarizing the problems encountered during the lifting of LNG tank on the first vessel and communicating with the design department, the project team decided to remove the obstacle structures in advance. Sufficient preparations were also made during the installation of foundations to provide strong support for the success of the one time lifting. The final realization was achieving a record of 58-day cycle on the slipway, a significant reduction there.

      After the sea trial, in order to deliver the vessel as soon as possible, the project team chose to live and work at the dock from day and night to deal with the remaining comments, and actively trained the crew on all operations. After the acceptance of the whole vessel, the construction quality was fully affirmed by the shipowner.

      During the delivery time, the ship owner of Langh Ship, Mrs Laura, her family and frends were invited to attend the naming ceremony and visit the shipyard. This coming was not merely a cooperation of the project, but a cultural feast with communication. The guests experienced the shipyard's intelligent cutting and processing workshop and production lines. The children, in particular, expressed great interest in modern manufacturing process. Their curiosity and exploratory spirit will surely inject fresh vitality and power into the both parties’future cooperation.  

   The visit has built a profound level of friendship between the two sides. They had in-depth discussions on shipbuilding technology and market demand as well as shared the cultural characteristics of their own countries. The leaders of Wuhu government attached great importance to their coming. Mr.Su Wenzhong, the deputy Secretary-General of Wuhu Municipal Committee, personally arranged the reception dinner and exchanged views with Laura's family, discussing their bright cooperation in the future.

       This delivery has laid a solid foundation for the subsequent series of vessels in technique and construction, demonstrated Wuhu Shipyard's extraordinary ability to build and deliver vessels, and consolidated its advantageous market position in high value-added vessels. Wuhu Shipyard will also take this successful delivery as an opportunity, continue to sum up experience, take full advantages, make more achievements in the Year of the Dragon!

(文/Writer：杨雯云/Yang Wenyun，译/Translator：叶佳一/Ye Jiayi)