Jiangnan Shipbuilding Ratchets up Production

Chen Leiting

On October 16, the fifth batch of undockings of CSSC Jiangnan Shipbuilding was kicked off as scheduled.The undocking span of this batch was from October 16 to October 31, with a total of 4 whole ships undocking, 4 and half ships and 2 loop segments floating.

On October 16, the 93,000 m3 VLGC (H2638) built by Jiangnan Shipbuilding for Guangdong Jiufeng Energy Group and the 98,000 m3 VLEC (H2684) for Pacific Gas were undocked at dock 4; half of the first ship (H2681) of 98,000 m3 VLEC series ships built for Wanhua Chemical Company, half of the first ship (H2742) of 93,000 m3 VLGC series and the loop segment of the third 15,500 TEU container ship(H2762) built for SEASPAN were floated simultaneously.

The general assembly and embarkation of the two whole ships and the general asembly cycle of the full width deck lifting all set a new record, and the two ships both realized the lifting of the deep well pump in the dock for the first time, which took a further step towards the commercial delivery of the liquid tank.Previously,the construction team made a prediction of the production rhythm of this batch in advance, and stuck to their post almost every day during the Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day holidays.Through the joint efforts of the construction team and the shipowner, they ensured the smooth undocking in the middle of October as scheduled.

On October 31, as the second 15000 TEU dual-fueled container ship (H2772) built by CSSC Jiangnan Shipbuilding for French CMA CGM and the second 15500 TEU container ship (H2761) for SEASPAN were undocked in dock 3, and the subsequent synchronous floating of two and a half ships, Jiangnan Shipbuilding successfully completed undocking of its annual fifth batch.On the same day, the 93,000 m3 VLGC No.5 ship ＂HENBIT＂ built for Petredec was delivered and left the shipyard.The completion of the above milestones symbolized that Jiangnan Shipbuilding is one step closer to completing the annual production task.

Before the two whole ships were undocked, Jiangnan Shipbuilding had achieved the ＂331＂ goal -- ＂three zero clearing＂ (embarkation zero clearing, test box zero clearing and painting zero clearing), ＂three network connections＂ (pipeline connection,power grid connection and information network connection) and generators ready for testing.At the same time,the engine room polishing and painting were finished and main lube oil feeding was finished.This means that the construction mode of Jiangnan Shipbuilding double-line container ship has been further stabilized.

The construction mode of double-line container ship increases the object quantity and makes the construction cycle even tighter.In the face of many difficulties and uncontrollable factors, all departments of Jiangnan Shipbuilding work together to ensure the project production progress on schedule and in an orderly fashion.The shell plate coating of the dual-fueled container vessel is at least 5 days longer than that of the conventional fuel container vessel.Since the shell plate coating application depends on the weather,the company embarkation department rolled out a prior plan and made sufficient guarantee.As a result, they handed over shell plate for coating two weeks in advance to ensure the smooth operation of the subsequent coating application; with the cooling weather, the paint curing time doubles compared with the summer.To ensure that the ballast water tank has sufficient immersion time, the embarkation department and module department of the company have particular emphasiss on the handover of tightness and integrity of the ballast tank for inspection, so as to ensure the continuous construction of the subsequent procedure department as soon as possible.

After the two whole ships were undocked, the following two and half ships floated synchronously and were in good condition.Before floating, Jiangnan Shipbuilding actively coordinated the labor force,carried out lean production around the shafting boring and shaft sleeve epoxy casting, and successfully realized boring, bushing installation, epoxy casting and other work.This batch of undocking time span lasted from October 16 to October 31, a total of 4 whole ships were undocked, 4 and half ships and 3 loop segments floated.

It is worth mentioning that in this batch and the next batch of undocking,the heavy platforms of Jiangnan Shipbuilding three production areas will be fully linked with the No.3 and No.4 docks to shift the fuel tank loop segments of the two container ships,so as to break the limitation barrier of the production site resources,reasonably coordinate the labor load,and help the successful completion of the annual production task.At the same time, Jiangnan Shipbuilding dock 3 will also usher in the doubleline dual-fuel container ship building,featuring more object quantity and greater challenge.

T h e H E N B I T, w h i c h w a s delivered on the same day, was christened on November 11, and its sister ship HERMIT used the ＂ship to ship mutual transfer＂ process for the first time.In addition, the HENBIT always carries gas after returning from sea trial to the shipyard, which poses a great challenge to its safety control.To this end, the construction team collected the naked fire opinions of the series ships in advance and improved them, moved forward the naked fire operation process that may be needed after returning to the shipyard, and minimized the demand for naked fire operation, so as to ensure the safety of the whole construction process.

A total of 6 VLGC will be built in this series, and the last one will reach the delivery status this year, achieving a successful completion of the series ships.