Recently, a fully electric container vessel measuring approximately 79.9 meters in length docked along the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal in Jining, Shandong Province. This is the first fully electric inland vessel ordered by French shipping giant CMA CGM, one of the world’s leading shipping companies, and also the first fully electric inland vessel exported overseas by China. The vessel was designed and developed by Wuhan University of Technology (WUT).

CMA CGM is the world’s third-largest ocean container shipping company. As part of its strategy to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2050, the company began searching globally for green vessel solutions three years ago. Pei Zhiyong, Director of the Ship and Cruise Center at Wuhan University of Technology, noted that in the past, CMA CGM’s fuel-powered vessels were mostly built in Japan and South Korea. Today, China leads the global shipbuilding industry, accounting for 56.1% of global completed shipbuilding volume last year, and is a world leader in manufacturing new energy vessels. In May 2024, CMA CGM executives visited Wuhan for the first time and showed strong interest in WUT’s green and smart river-sea-going ship cruise technology. By November of the same year, CMA CGM signed a letter of intent with Shandong New Energy Shipping, entrusting WUT with the vessel’s design.

The vessel must meet the certification standards of the French classification society and the stringent requirements of the European Union, adapt to the shallow waters and winding channels of Vietnam’s inland rivers, and achieve high load capacity and long endurance. Within a limited hull length, the design incorporates four sets of containerized batteries with a total capacity of nearly 8,000 kWh, while ensuring the draft does not exceed a strict red line. The design challenges were immense.

After thousands of digital simulations and optimizations, the team finally proposed a solution: a wide, flat hull shape, efficient propellers, and a lightweight structural design, allowing the vessel to carry up to 3,500 tons while maintaining flexibility in narrow waterways. The vessel’s endurance exceeded CMA CGM’s predetermined targets. After two days of on-site observation and testing, CMA CGM engineers fully affirmed WUT’s design, praising its ability of higher load capacity, greater speed, and superior efficiency.

Written by: Zhou Danyang, Shu Siming

Rewritten by: Xu Hanyue

Edited by: Li Huihui, Li Tiantian

Source: XinHua net, Changjiang Daily