China has begun construction of the country's largest and most advanced towed suction hopper dredger (TSHD).
Photo courtesy of ZPMC
Fei Rong, a senior researcher at the China Marine Design Institute, said that once completed, the new vessel will be the largest TSHD in Asia.
“The new vessel will be about 195 metres long and 38.5 metres wide. It will be able to pump material from depths of up to 120 metres and can accommodate around 35,000 cubic metres of seabed or riverbed material,” Fay said.
According to a report by China Daily, part of the production of the new megaship TSHD, which will be named at a later date, has been underway since January at Shanghai Zhenhua Heavy Industries Co., Ltd.'s (ZPMC) Qidong Marine Engineering in Jiangsu Province.
Research and development work on other parts of the vessel is also underway at the China Marine Design and Research Academy in Shanghai.
The dredger is due to be delivered to China Communications Construction Co., a state-owned engineering and infrastructure company, in 2026.
