China's first home-grown large cruise ship sets sail on trial voyage

beijingwalker · Jul 18, 2023

China's first home-grown large cruise ship sets sail on trial voyage

Technology 11:35, 18-Jul-2023

China's first domestically built large cruise ship left the dock in Shanghai on Monday, embarking on its first sea trial trip, according to its builder Shanghai Waigaoqiao Shipbuilding Co., Ltd. under China State Shipbuilding Corporation.

The cruise ship, known as Adora Magic City (H1508), is going for a nine-day sea trial as the first of two trials.

During the trip, it will undertake verifications mainly on key systems and technical indicators related to standard certification, including navigation system, propulsion system, fuel delivery, ballast water treatment and maneuverability navigation performance.

The vibration and noise measurements of each subsystem and the whole ship will also be carried out to lay a good foundation for the second sea trial, which has been set for August.

The cruise ship also passed a series of tests after leaving the dry dock on June 6, including dead ship test and power loss test, which are the most typical functional tests of a ship under emergency conditions.

A dead ship condition refers to when the main propulsion plant, boilers and auxiliaries are not in operation due to the absence of power. The dead ship test for Adora Magic City required its main engines to be restored to power within 30 minutes from a state of no energy on the main generator, and the power loss test required electrical power restoration within 45 seconds.

The two tests enable the ship to react swiftly in case of emergencies and achieve power and energy recovery.

With a gross tonnage of 135,500 tonnes, the ship, measuring 323.6 meters long and 37.2 meters wide, can accommodate more than 6,500 people in 2,826 cabins. It is dubbed "mobile maritime city" for harboring leisure facilities, including theaters, specialty restaurants, shopping plazas, art corridors and water parks.

The successful construction of Adora Magic City marks a new leap in China's shipbuilding technology, making it the fifth country that is able to build large cruise ships, following Germany, France, Italy and Finland.

It is expected to be delivered by the end of 2023.

The construction on the second large cruise ship (H1509) began in August 2022 and is scheduled for delivery in 2025.