Builder of OOCL Beijing takes First Class Award in Shanghai

OOCL announced that the shipbuilder of 8,888 TEU vessel, OOCL Beijing, has won the “Shanghai Municipality’s First Class Award for Science and Technology Advancement”.

OOCL Beijing was built by Hudong-Zhonghua Shipbuilding (Group) Co., Ltd. (Hudong-Zhonghua) of China State Shipbuilding Corporation (CSSC) and she is, by far, the largest container vessel designed and constructed using advanced and innovative technologies solely developed in China.

OOCL Beijing has acquired the Environmental Passport (EP) notation by meeting international standards and requirements in areas such as NOx and SOx emission control. The vessel was also designed and built to meet energy efficiency objectives, lowering CO2 emissions and achieving the best results on the Energy Efficiency Design Index (EEDI).

The following are some effective environmentally friendly features of the vessel.

• Reduced Fuel Consumption – By leveraging on the sophisticated hull form design the streamlined vessel can sail more efficiently hence consuming less fuel and reducing emissions. To further conserve energy, the ship’s overall weight distribution is optimized to prevent undesirable bending and deadweight that would otherwise be countered by water ballasting and consumption of more fuel to operate.
• Improved Air Quality – During port time, the Alternative Maritime Power (AMP) system allows the ship to reduce emissions by switching from burning fuel to using electricity power sources available by the shore, thus contributing to cleaner air at the ports and their surrounding communities.
• Marine Pollution Control – An air sealing technique is applied on the vessel’s propeller shaft to prevent oil leakage into the sea.

In addition to minimizing the impact on the environment, the OOCL Beijing was also designed to maximize its carrying capacity. The vessel was constructed based on the scale of an 8,530 TEU container vessel but through the concerted efforts of OOCL and Hudong-Zhonghua working side-by-side on design optimization, the team was able to increase the carrying capacity of OOCL Beijing to 8,888 TEU. OOCL first commissioned Hudong-Zhonghua to build six 8,530 TEU container vessels in 2007 and later placed an order for two more units of the same type in 2010.