Nation launches mighty new island-maker
China has launched Asia's largest and most advanced cutter-suction dredger, which can further enhance the nation's capability in land reclamation.
The Tiankun was moved on Friday to waters off a shipyard at Shanghai Zhenhua Heavy Industry Qidong Marine Engineering Co in Jiangsu province. Its construction started in early 2016 and will be completed in June, according to a statement sent to China Daily by the Marine Design and Research Institute in Shanghai, the ship's designer.
Engineers will test and finetune equipment already installed on the electrically powered, self-propelled vessel and continue installing other devices. Then the ship will conduct mooring and sailing tests before being commissioned to China Communications Construction Co's Tianjin Dredging Co, it said.
The institute calls the Tiankun a magic island-maker in the statement, explaining that it is the best of its kind in Asia. It can be used to conduct coastal/channel dredging and land reclamation operations even in bad weather at sea, it said.
With a full displacement of 17,000 metric tons, the 140-meter-long ship is capable of dredging as much as 6,000 cubic meters of sand or clay per hour from 35 meters below the water's surface, a capacity that means it could dig three standard swimming pools in an hour. The vessel is equipped with one of the world's strongest cutter-suction systems, with four types of cutters that can handle various seabed substances, including hard rock.
After sand, clay or scattered coral reef is drawn out of the waters, it can be conveyed to as far away as 15 kilometers from the ship, thanks to the world's most powerful and longest conveyance system, according to the institute. The suctioned substances can be piled up to form new land.
The ship is highly automated: Its computers can operate and monitor the ship's equipment without manual manipulation, thus boasting a higher level of efficiency compared with similar vessels, the institute said.
Currently, the largest cutter-suction dredger in operation in Asia is Tianjin Dredging Co's Tianjing, which was jointly designed by Chinese and German engineers. It can handle 4,500 cubic meters of substance each hour from 30 meters beneath the surface.
There are only four countries in the world－China, the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany－that are able to develop cutter-suction dredgers, the most technologically sophisticated ship used for marine engineering, said Fei Long, deputy chief designer at the Marine Design and Research Institute.
"The development of the Tiankun indicates that we have become one of the leaders in the marine engineering sector," he said.
中国性能强劲的新型“造岛神器”下水
日前，亚洲最大、也是最先进的绞吸挖泥船在中国下水，有望进一步加强中国在吹填造地领域的工程能力。
这艘名为“天鲲号”的重型自航绞吸挖泥船周五在位于江苏省的上海振华重工启东造船厂下水。据“天鲲号”的设计单位中国船舶工业集团有限公司第七〇八研究所向本报介绍，该船在2016年年初开工建造，预计将于2018年6月完工投入使用。
据该所介绍，在这艘电力驱动自航式船舶下水后，研发人员将对船上已安装好的设备进行调试，并将继续安装其他仪器。该船后续还将进行系泊及试航试验，之后将交付给中国交通建设股份有限公司下属的天津航道局有限公司进行作业。
七〇八所称“天鲲号”为“造岛神器”，表示该船在亚洲范围内是其同类型装备中最先进的。该船可用于岸线、河道的疏浚以及填海造地工程，并且不惧海上的恶劣天气。
据了解，“天鲲号”满载排水量17000吨，长140米，设计每小时挖泥6000立方米，最大挖深35米。这些指标意味着这艘船每小时可挖出3个标准游泳池大小的坑。该船拥有世界一流的绞吸系统，与其相匹配的四种绞刀可以处理不同的海床地质构造，包括硬度很高的海底岩石。
当海沙、黏土或礁岩被绞碎后，“天鲲号”自带的国际上功率最高、同时也是最长的输送系统可以将它们输送到15千米以外的地点，而这些碎屑可以逐渐堆积成为新的陆地。
据七〇八所科研人员介绍，“天鲲号”的自动化程度很高，可实现自动挖泥、监控及无人操控，相比其他同类船舶，作业效率得到极大提高。
目前，亚洲现役最大的绞吸船是中交天津航道局的“天鲸号”。“天鲸号”由中德两国工程师共同设计，最大绞吸能力为每小时4500立方米，最大挖深30米。
据七〇八所副总工程师、“天鲲号”总设计师费龙介绍，目前世界上只有中国、荷兰、比利时以及德国这四个国家有能力研制绞吸挖泥船。他解释说，这种船是海洋工程装备领域中技术最为复杂的装备。
他说：“‘天鲲号’的成功研制意味着我国已经成为海洋工程装备领域里的引领者之一。”
