Open New Chapter of Smart Shipping! DSIC Delivers the Global First Smart VLCC Successfully

On June 22, 2019, the global first smart VLCC- No.82 308k DWT Very Large Crude Oil Carrier  was delivered successfully to China Merchants Energy Shipping Co., Ltd.(CMES) by DSIC, starting her maiden voyage from Dalian, where the tripartite representatives from CMES, DSIC and CSOC signed on the ship delivery & acceptance protocol respectively. CMES Party Secretary and Chairman Xie Chunlin named her New Journey, BP China Chairman and CEO Madam Yang Xiaoping cut the rope for her while DSIC leaders Liu Zheng, Yang Zhizhong, Deng Changlian, Zheng Wei and Zhang Yuhuan attending the delivery ceremony.

Following successful delivery of the global first VLCC with wind sail installation in 2018, the VLCC New Journey is another creative brand product in a joint effort with CMES. As a special R&D project of Smart Ship 1.0- major smart VLCC demonstration application project, her successful delivery is not only a milestone in the development of the world smart large oceangoing ships, also represents China has opened a new chapter of the global smart VLCC shipping.

The New Journey is remarkable in smart achievements, who has achieved five major smart functions of ship navigation auxiliary autopilot, smart liquid cargo management, integrated energy efficiency management, equipment operation and maintenance, and whole ship-shore communication through structuring the network information platform of smart service systems. This is the global first VLCC with ship notations of i-SHIP（I，N、M、Et、C）and OMBO acquired from CCS, which has filled the international gap in the smart VLCC, and laid a solid foundation for DSIC to start a new pattern of manufacture plus service.

The project of smart VLCC, in her 3-year development process from project approval in 2016 to delivery of real ship in 2019, has received substantial support from CMES, and powerful technical support from the research units, such as SDARI, CSSC System Engineering Research Institute, Shanghai Ship Research Institute, Highlander and CSIC No.704 Institute.

During the development and manufacture of the project, CSIC and DSIC have successfully held seminars, review meetings, coordinated meetings, technical disclosure meetings and training meetings in cooperation with all these research units many times in many places, working out application research of VLCC smart systems and development of specialized smart systems, and planing and coordinating tens of system/equipment manufacturers to conduct relevant commissioning on the real ship, which has fully manifested the rigorousness, professionalism and sincere cooperation of various research units. It has only taken 45 days to finish the installation, mooring and commissioning of all smart equipment with quality and quantity assured, and 7 days to accomplish all tasks of sea trial verification.

During sea trial, all test items have achieved one-time pass with a pass rate of 100% , which the shipowners and class surveyors have spoken highly of. The New Journey is the 6th generation of VLCC independently developed by CSIC and DSIC, and the 97th VLCC delivered successfully as well. Up to now, DSIC has held a total order of VLCCs up to 109, occupying over 15% of the global operating VLCC fleet. The demonstration application of smart VLCC shall further drive the high-quality development in the shipbuilding industry through enhancing R&D of ship smart systems and integrated application research. CSIC and DSIC shall continue their sincere cooperation with CMES, CCS and other partners to continually boost smart level of the very large oil tankers and make new and greater contributions to further raise comprehensive competitiveness of our shipbuilding industry through deep collaborations of industry-university-research-using units.