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China’s first ASD tugboat with hybrid propulsion and smart systems delivered
Jiangsu Zhenjiang Shipyards handed Qing Gang Tuo 1 over to Qingdao Port 8 December 2022, as a milestone in reducing emissions from harbour operations in China
This 39-m vessel is the first tugboat to have intelligent systems and lithium-ion (Li) batteries on board for electric propulsion and to augment diesel power during towage operations.
Qing Gang Tuo 1 is one of the first to have China Classification Society (CCS) notations for autonomous machinery spaces, remote monitoring and intelligent navigation.
Its two main diesel engines, each with 1,912 kW of power and batteries with 2,760 kWh capacity, drive two 600-kW electric motors. When the diesel engines are engaged, Qing Gang Tuo 1 has bollard pull ahead of 61 tonnes and astern of 58 tonnes. When using just the batteries and electric motors, bollard pull ahead is 25 tonnes and astern it is 23 tonnes.
This tug has a beam of 11 m, a depth of 5 m and maximum speed of 11 knots. It can transit for 2.5 hours on batteries alone at a speed of 10 knots. The Li batteries can be charged fully in around 2.5 hours using a shore power system and can be charged at sea by the diesel engines.
During free sailing and operations there are three modes: pure-electric, diesel engine and hybrid propulsion.
In battery mode, Qing Gang Tuo 1 can achieve zero fuel consumption and emissions, saving an estimated 227 tonnes of fuel oil and 700 tonnes of CO2 emissions per year.
Delivery of Qing Gang Tuo 1 is a landmark event in the green development of China’s port industry.
“The design and construction of the vessel will effectively solve the problems of low energy efficiency, high fuel consumption and high emissions from diesel engines, existing in traditional tugboat sailings and operations,” said Jiangsu Zhenjiang Shipyards. “It will promote the complete transformation of the operation mode of traditional port tugboats.”
Qing Gang Tuo 1 is registered in CCS with the notations AUT-0, hybrid, and i-Ship (N, M, E, I) covering smart navigation, machinery, energy management and platform integration.
12,568 sensors are installed on board, providing regular data streams for smart devices, intelligent systems and six sets of artificial intelligence modelling systems.
The ship intelligence system can analyse the signals of marine communication equipment in real-time and evaluate the collision risk, assisting tug masters with safer navigation.
The system analyses the operating and health status of equipment in the engineroom and provides auxiliary decision-making for ship operations and maintenance. Energy consumption of the main engines and Li-batteries is monitored and analysed in real-time to provide support for optimal navigation.
Data from the intelligent navigation, engineroom and energy efficiency management system will be collected to form a unified integrated platform of onboard information and applications, and for comprehensive monitoring and intelligent management of this tugboat at the port terminal and owner’s shore base.
Delivery of Qing Gang Tuo 1 tops a busy period of tugboat launches and completions for the Zhenjiang Shipyards in Jiangsu province.
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