On August 18, Chinese shipbuilder Zhoushan Changhong International successfully broke ground on a 21,700-TEU LNG dual-fuel container ship being built for Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) at the Zhoushan Changhong (Daishan) facility. Construction on the first vessel in this series began on June 18.
It is understood that the 21,700-TEU container ship project represents the largest-class container ship currently under construction in Zhejiang Province. It also marks the fourth newbuilding project in the partnership between Changhong International and MSC, following previous collaborations on 11,500-TEU, 10,300-TEU, and 19,000-TEU vessels.
Based on information provided by Zhoushan Changhong International, the 21,700-TEU container ship has a total length of 366 meters, a draft of 33.2 meters, a beam of 61.3 meters, and a design speed of 19 knots. It was jointly developed and designed by Changhong International and CIMC Ocean Engineering Design & Research Institute (CIMC ORIC).
This vessel design features a next-generation LNG dual-fuel propulsion system with built-in readiness for future ammonia fuel adoption, effectively boosting transport capacity while significantly reducing energy consumption and emissions.
Through CFD simulations and model basin testing, the hull line, wind deflector, pre-propeller duct, and twisted rudder have been optimized in an integrated manner to lower fuel consumption during voyages and enhance propulsion efficiency. Equipped with an ICMS (Integrated Control and Monitoring System) and an SSPM (Ship Performance Monitoring System), the vessel leverages digital twin technology and machine learning algorithms to enable predictive equipment maintenance, intelligent energy management, and coordinated subsystem control, thereby elevating the level of operational intelligence.