On October 23, the “Xin Hai Jing 1,” China’s first extra-large self-propelled trailing suction hopper dredger designed with distributed in-hold dredge pumps, built by Shanghai Zhenhua Port Machinery (ZPMC) for CCCC Shanghai Dredging, was officially delivered at ZPMC Qidong Offshore Engineering base. The vessel achieves full-chain independent controllability of dredging equipment—from overall design to core components—and combines intelligent operation with green, low-carbon advantages. It will support major marine engineering projects and inject strong marine engineering momentum into the building of a maritime power.
It is reported that this vessel was constructed under a turnkey contract by the National Engineering Research Centre of Dredging and designed by the Marine Design and Research Institute of China (MARIC). With a maximum hopper capacity of 27,929 m³ and a maximum dredging depth of 120 meters, the vessel’s performance, environmental standards, and technical capabilities all rank among the world’s best, marking China’s achievement of full autonomy and control over the entire dredging equipment supply chain—from overall design to core components.
The “Xin Hai Jing 1” has an overall length of 180 meters, a beam of 36 meters, and a draft of 17.2 meters. Breaking away from the traditional centralized layout of mud pumps on cutter-suction dredgers, it is the first vessel to install two in-hold mud pumps in separate forward and aft pump compartments at the front and rear of the mud hold, respectively. This innovative hydrodynamic layout addresses the challenges of pipeline resistance and center of gravity balance in ultra-large vessels under extreme operating conditions, significantly enhancing stability and dredging efficiency under various loading conditions, and filling a gap in the design and application of distributed in-hold dredge pumps in China’s dredging industry.
Full-chain domestic production is the most outstanding achievement of the “Xin Hai Jing 1.” Centering on the requirements for ultra-large dredging depth, ultra-strong soil-breaking capability, and ultra-long discharge distance, all parties involved ine thconstruction adhered to demand-driven development and mobilized more than 110 domestic suppliers for collaborative research and development. Together they developed a series of core dredging-specific equipment, including a high-capacity, high-efficiency universal draghead suitable for both deep and shallow water, a lightweight 120-meter deep-water long drag arm system, and a high-efficiency hopper loading and overflow device. These efforts have driven a large number of core dredging-specific equipment items to complete domestic verification and supporting application, establishing a complete closed loop covering design and R&D, system integration, core supporting equipment, and full-scale ship verification, effectively shoring up shortcomings in China’s dredging and reclamation industry chain.
Intelligence and green development are the distinctive hallmarks of the “Xin Hai Jing 1.” The vessel is equipped with a new-generation intelligent monitoring and integrated management platform fully independently developed by China, adopting a “1 platform + N systems” architecture that enables fully automated control of “one-key dredging,” “one-key spoil dumping,” and “one-key reclamation,” and achieves “dredging-navigation integration” and even “unmanned dredging” under typical operating conditions.
Its digital twin system and “digital sentinels” based on AI vision and LiDAR can intelligently identify safety hazards such as smoke, flames, and oil leaks, with a recognition accuracy of over 95%. Both the main and auxiliary diesel engines are equipped with SCR denitrification systems. Through comprehensive measures including distributed in-hold dredge pumps, optimized pipeline layout, streamlined hull form for drag reduction, hybrid drive, and intelligent power and energy efficiency management, the vessel achieves a carbon emission reduction of more than 20% and a dredging efficiency improvement of approximately 30% compared with conventional vessels of the same type.
Once delivered and put into service, the vessel will be widely deployed for major projects such as deep-sea sand dredging, deep-water port and channel dredging along the coast, land reclamation, and coastal protection. It will further strengthen the capabilities of China’s ultra-large cutter suction dredger fleet and continue to advance the localization and iterative development of key supporting components, as well as the research and development of a series of related equipment.