- The “Ningyuan Diankun” vessel set sail on a coastal maiden voyage, marking a step toward zero-emission short-sea shipping in china
- The ship combines large-scale battery power with swap-and-charge operations and autonomous navigation systems
China has put into operation a 10,000-ton class all-electric container ship, advancing efforts to decarbonize short-sea shipping routes.
The “Ningyuan Diankun,” developed by Ningbo Ocean Shipping Co., departed on April 15 from Ningbo-Zhoushan port‘s Beilun terminal for Jiaxing’s Zhapu port, in what the company describes as a milestone for domestic coastal freight.
The vessel is powered by 10 standardized containerized battery packs with total capacity comparable to about 300 electric passenger vehicles.
With 127.8 meters in length and 21.6 meters in width, it can carry 742 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) and is reportedly the world’s largest battery-powered ship of its kind.
The operator estimates annual fuel savings of around 580 tons and carbon dioxide reductions of more than 1,400 tons, based on internal projections.
To address range and turnaround constraints, the ship uses a hybrid system combining shore-based fast charging and battery swapping.
During port calls, battery units can be swapped via crane while cargo operations continue.
“The core objective of the project is to establish a national demonstration model for fully electric seagoing vessels and extend pure electric technology from inland waters to coastal shipping, forming a replicable zero-carbon transport system,” a spokesperson of Ningbo Ocean Shipping Co. was quoted as saying, without being named.
The ship also integrates an intelligent navigation system with route optimization, situational awareness and collision-avoidance functions, enabling partial autonomous operation with manual override.
Ningbo Ocean Shipping now operates 32 energy-efficient vessels and 19 smart ships. A sister vessel named “Ningyuan Dianpeng” is scheduled for delivery in June, with both expected to support pilot testing of electric coastal shipping operations.
