China's largest locally produced RO-RO Passenger Ship makes debut

By Ju Chuanjiang and Wangqian (chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2009-10-19 17:18

Rongcheng: China's largest home-made RO-RO Passenger Ship "Pearl of the Bohai Sea" made its successful debut in the waters near Shandong province's Rongcheng Yellow Sea Dockyard on October 18.

China's largest locally produced RO-RO Passenger Ship makes debut

China's largest home-made RO-RO Passenger Ship "Pearl of the Bohai Sea" makes debut on October 18. [chinadaily.com.cn]

The ship, made by Shandong Bohai Ferry Co Ltd with an investment of 350 million yuan, is scheduled to be put into operation between the coastal cities of Yantai and Dalian before the Spring Festival in 2010.

According to Yu Xinjian, general director of Shandong Bohai Ferry Co Ltd, the ship is 163.95 m long and 25 m wide, with the gross tonnage of over 20,000 tons. It features a 2000-m driveway, a 2-storey passenger cabin and a 3-storey vehicle hold. It is able to hold more than 260 cars and 1630 passengers, the top carrying capacity in China.

Designed to travel at 18.5 knots and with a top speed of 20.6 knots, it only takes 5 hours to travel from Yantai to Dalian by the ship.

In an integration of travel, leisure and entertainment, the ship is equipped with a series of world advanced systems including navigation, communication, satellite positioning and remote monitoring.

As the fifth of six luxurious ships produced by Shandong Bohai Ferry Co Ltd which cost a total investment of 2 billion yuan, it is the largest, fastest, safest, most advanced, and most stable locally made RO-RO Passenger Ship in China.

With projects beginning in November, Shandong Bohai Ferry Co Ltd is committed to invest 1.8 billion yuan to build 4 more ships of this kind to adopt the rapid development of across-Strait and Sino-Korean trade relationship.