With the takeover of the “Ning Yuan Dian Kun” in Ningbo, the Chinese shipping company Ningbo Ocean Shipping Company (Nbosco) has put what it claims is currently the largest all-electric container ship in the world into service.
The 742-TEU newbuild was recently handed over, christened and then sent on its first voyage. The ship is the first of two all-electric, battery-powered sea-river vessels that Nbosco has ordered from the Chinese shipyard Jiangxi Jiangxin Shipbuilding. The shipyard used to operate under the name Tongfang Jiangxin Shipyard. The order for the duo was placed in May 2024.
Together with its sister ship “Ning Yuan Dian Peng”, which is expected shortly, the unit will operate a shuttle service across Hangzhou Bay – on a route of around 60 nm between Ningbo-Zhoushan and the coastal town of Zhapu to the south of Shanghai.
The open-top units were designed by the Shanghai Merchant Ship Design & Research Institute(SDARI). The ships measure 127.80 m in length and 21.60 m in width, are designed for seven rows of containers and have a design draught of 6.20 m. They are powered by two electric motors. Propulsion is provided by two electric motors with 875 kW each – design speed: 11.5 knots.
At the heart of the energy concept are ten containerized battery packs with a total capacity of 19,600 kWh. They are charged either via an on-board high-voltage shore power system or on land and can then simply be exchanged using a container crane. A pragmatic approach that makes expensive charging infrastructure on board largely superfluous.
At 742 TEU, the two Nbosco units outperform the electric Cosco feeders, which will also be deployed on sea-river routes in China and will be launched in 2023.
Nbosco itself ranks 23rd in the Alphaliner ranking and operates 91 vessels with a combined capacity of around 94,000 TEU, a network that is focused on North East Asia.
