YANGZHOU  — On the morning of September 1^st, the 325,000 DWT methanol dual-fuel Very Large Ore Carrier (VLOC) "Yuan Hai Si Lu," built by COSCO Shipping Heavy Industry Co., Ltd and operated by COSCO Shipping Bulk Transport Co., Ltd, was officially named in Yangzhou, Jiangsu Province. The vessel is equipped with a proprietary digital ship delivery system.

Co-designed by COSCO SHIPPING Heavy Industry and the Shanghai Merchant Ship Design & Research Institute (SDARI), the "Yuan Hai Si Lu" measures 339.90 meters in length, 62.00 meters in beam, 30.00 meters in depth, and has a structural draft of 21.25 meters. Its cargo hold capacity is over 40% larger than traditional VLOCs of the same dimensions, enabling it to transport both iron ore and lower-density bauxite. The hull lines were optimized for navigation through Indian Ocean wave conditions, improving overall operational performance by over 5%.

Regarding propulsion and decarbonization, the vessel complies with IMO EEDI Phase 3 standards and features a methanol dual-fuel main engine and boiler, delivering a single-bunkering cruising range of 20,000 nautical miles on methanol fuel. Operating entirely on green methanol, the ship can offset approximately 52,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions annually. To resist methanol corrosion, dedicated methanol tanks are coated with inorganic zinc silicate, while dual-purpose methanol/fuel tanks utilize advanced polymer coatings.

On intelligence and digital delivery, the vessel adheres to CCS i-ship (N, M, E, I) standards and is fitted with integrated display and situational awareness systems to enable autonomous navigation in open waters. Additionally, the ship incorporates COSCO SHIPPING Heavy Industry's self-developed digital ship delivery system, which uses lightweight 3D models and an embedded multimodal AI search module to bridge data flows across design, procurement, manufacturing, delivery, and maintenance. COSCO SHIPPING Heavy Industry previously secured the world's first General Design Approval (GDA) certificate for a digital ship delivery system from China Classification Society (CCS).

Source：Hydrogen Insight