On April 25, Shanghai Zhenhua Port Machinery (ZPMC) and China State Construction Harbour Construction Co., Ltd. (CSCHCC) held a signing ceremony for the “Zhongjian Tongzhou 19,” a 10,000 m³ self-propelled trailing suction hopper dredger.
Designated by the Marine Design and Research Institute of China (MARIC), the vessel has an overall length of 135.8 meters, a beam of 25.6 meters, and a dredging draft of 8.5 meters. It has a crew capacity of 36 and is capable of operating in all navigation zones. The main propulsion system consists of twin engines and twin propellers, meeting DP-1 requirements. With a high degree of automation, it can adapt to a variety of complex operational environments at sea. Upon completion, it will further enhance China’s dredging capabilities and standards, contributing to the development of a maritime power.
Founded in 1992, ZPMC Group is a state-controlled A- and B-share listed company. Its parent company is China Communications Construction Group Co., Ltd., and its core businesses include port machinery, offshore engineering equipment, and steel structures. The company operates 8 production bases and 119 global subsidiaries, and owns a fleet of 23 dedicated transport vessels. It is the world’s largest manufacturer of port machinery, a provider of automated terminal system solutions, a transporter of port machinery, and a globally renowned manufacturer of specialized engineering vessels and large-scale steel structures.
The “Tongjun” and “Jun Guang,” built by ZPMC, are Asia’s largest ultra-large trailing suction hopper dredgers with a hopper capacity of 35,000 cubic meters, and are truly major national assets. In addition, ZPMC’s “Xin Hai Jing 1,” China’s first 25,000 m³ self-propelled trailing suction hopper dredger equipped with a distributed in-hold slurry pump, was launched in March of this year.