Yangtse River News

Four new 90-meter oil/deck cargo barges for Canada's Government of the Northwest Territories (GNWT) Marine Transportation Services (MTS) have been launched by Nanjing Jinling Shipyard, in Nanjing, China.The first barge MTS 3501 was launched on June 16, followed by barge MTS 3502 launched on June 22 and barges MTS 3503 and MTS 3504 launched on June 28.The barges will undergo final testing and touch-up work in preparation for the 400-kilometer tow down the Yangtse River to Shanghai where they will be loaded onto a semi-submersible heavy lift vessel and transported to Tuktoyaktuk…

Honghua Group Ltd. informs it has signed a shipbuilding deal with LNG Power Shipping Ltd. for the construction of 200 eco-friendly inland river ships to be powered by liquefied natural gas (LNG). The contract, worth approximately RMB760 million ($122.4 million USD), will see Honghua build and sell 200 LNG-powered inland vessels, including 700-ton ships, 950-ton ships and 1,350-ton ships. The builder expects to deliver all of the vessels by the end of September 2016. Honghua Group chairman Zhang Mi commented on the deal, saying, “The LNG powered ships that [Honghua Group] will build are a new type of environment-friendly transportation vessel, directly responding to the concept of environment protection and energy saving.

Saab TransponderTech has won a contract to supply Automatic Identification System (AIS) base stations in China, as part of a major extension of AIS coverage along China’s coastline. The contract, which was awarded by the China Marine Safety Agency through Shanghai Navstar Technology, includes 35 dual base station sites with networking systems and enhanced data logging functionality. This AIS network will expand coverage in the Yangtse River and the North, East and South China Sea. Saab TransponderTech and Shanghai Navstar Technology have already deployed four AIS systems in China since 2002. They are located at Guangdong, Shanghai, Bo Hai and Quing Zhou.