On March 3, a reporter from Beijing Business Daily learned that China's first large-scale cruise ship built in Shanghai is in full swing for internal decoration and system commissioning, and it is expected to be delivered before the end of this year. The ice-breaking of domestic large cruise ships not only means that the last pearl of the shipbuilding industry will be picked by the Chinese people, but also the trillion-level market, known as the "gold industry floating on the golden waterway".

Pick the last jewel of shipbuilding

Because of the extremely difficult design and construction, large cruise ships, together with large liquefied natural gas carriers and aircraft carriers, are known as the "most dazzling jewel in the crown" of the shipbuilding industry, which directly reflects a country's equipment construction capabilities and comprehensive scientific and technological level, and is also the last pearl that Chinese has not yet been taken.

For more than 100 years, only a few European shipyards in the world, such as the Fincantini Group of Italy, Meier Shipyard of Germany, and Atlantic Shipyard of France, have been able to design and build large cruise ships. The reason behind this is because it is very difficult to build a large cruise ship.

According to Hu Defang, secretary of the party committee and chairman of China Shipbuilding Bohai Shipyard Group Co., Ltd., the design and construction of large cruise ships are completely different from the concept of other ships, and it can be said that "a ship is a mobile maritime city".

"Large cruise ships are veritable giant systems engineering. As the world's most complex single electromechanical product, taking China's first large-scale cruise ship, the ship has a total of 136 systems, more than 2,2500 sets of equipment, 4200 million parts, 350,450 kilometers of cables, 500 kilometers of pipe systems, 101 kilometers of air ducts, more than 5000 global suppliers to provide 1200 turnkey packages for the project, about <>,<> workers working on site, and more than <> million construction man-hours are required to complete. Due to the particularity of its structure, complexity of the process, the arduousness of construction, and global supply chain coordination, it is an unprecedented challenge for China's shipbuilding industry. Hu Defang said.

Chen Ranfeng, CEO of CSSC Carnival Cruises, said in an exclusive interview with a reporter from Beijing Business Daily, "At present, the first domestic large-scale cruise ship has completed the whole ship and has moved to the stage of equipment function debugging and internal installation, and is expected to be delivered in 2023, opening the Shanghai home port season and operating international routes to East Asia and Southeast Asia." It is understood that the cruise ship has a total tonnage of 13,55 tons, based on the Vista-class platform used by Carnival Group, with a total length of 323.6 meters, a beam of 37.2 meters, a maximum draft of 8.55 meters, a maximum speed of 22.6 knots, a maximum capacity of 5246,2125 passengers, and <>,<> guest rooms.

It is understood that the first domestic large cruise ship is scheduled to be undocked at the end of May. After leaving the dock, two sea trial tests will be carried out in July and August to fully verify the mechanical properties and comfort of the cruise ship and lay the foundation for delivery operations.

Gold industry on the gold waterway

The delivery of the first domestically built large cruise ship will rewrite the situation that the large cruise ships currently in service are all produced abroad. At present, the "comeback" of cruise tourism has also made people have higher expectations for the development prospects of China's cruise industry.

The cruise industry is known as "the gold industry floating on the golden waterway". The industrial chain is long, the driving force is strong, the influence is large, the coverage is wide, the degree of internationalization is high, and the multiplier effect reaches 1:14, which is a trillion-level industry. Promoting the construction of large-scale domestic cruise ships can drive the development of the industrial chain on the one hand, and further promote the further development of cruise tourism to quality on the other hand.

Hu Defang said that the cruise industry takes cruise operation as the leader, cruise research and development as the core, and supply chain construction as the guarantee, covering high-end equipment, finance and insurance, transportation, port operation, tourism and many other industrial fields, and is an ecosystem that deeply integrates advanced manufacturing and modern service industries.

Wang Xingbin, a senior tourism expert, said that the construction of cruise ships will drive various departments of multiple industries, from the production of raw materials to the equipment of accessories, from heavy industry to light industry, such as cruise manufacturing, will drive cruise system integration, core equipment research and development, power units, deck machinery, cabin equipment, new energy and clean energy, etc. "For China, the cruise industry is still an emerging industry, still in its infancy, the real domestic cruise ships are still relatively few, but with the development of China's cruise construction industry, the future will also have a greater driving effect on related industries." Wang Xingbin said.

Cruise tourism is an important aspect of China's tourism consumption transformation and upgrading, its unique marine characteristics, experiential characteristics for tourists to create a unique lifestyle, while eating, staying, traveling, traveling, shopping, entertainment as one of the one-stop exquisite services is also an important way to meet people's yearning for a better life, has been included in the "Outline of the Strategic Plan for Expanding Domestic Demand (2022-2035)".

Since January 2020, China's international cruise routes have been suspended. Hu Defang suggested that international cruise ships should resume sailing as soon as possible, "when conditions permit, priority should be given to Chinese-funded cruise companies to resume routes from the mainland to Taiwan and China to South Korea, and open up 'Maritime Silk Road' routes to serve the country's domestic and foreign policies; at the same time, encourage Chinese-funded cruise companies to participate in the development of islands in the South China Sea, open up 'island-hopping routes' in the South China Sea, form a new type of tourist destination, achieve sustainable development of the cruise industry, and drive the continuous expansion of domestic consumption." ”

Comprehensive report by Beijing Business Daily