China News Service, Yichang, April 5 (Guo Xiaoying, Lv Caihong, Li Xinyu) According to news from the Three Gorges Corporation River Basin Management Center on the 5th, at 18:00 that day, with the completion of joint debugging and ship-carrying tests with water, the Three Gorges North Line Ship Lock is scheduled to suspend navigation in 2024. After the inspection is completed, operation will resume in advance.
The planned suspension of navigation and maintenance of the Three Gorges North Line Ship Lock in 2024 was launched on February 21, and is planned to last for 45 days, and will resume navigation on April 6. 16 units and more than 800 people participated in the maintenance, and a total of 39 maintenance items in 5 categories were completed.
The freighter enters the lock chamber of the Three Gorges North Line Ship Lock. Photo by Lu Caihong
This maintenance not only requires the completion of various conventional maintenance projects such as herringbone doors, anti-arc doors, water conveyance corridors, etc., but also comprehensively completes the debugging tasks of upgrading and transforming the industrial control system, and simultaneously promotes local anti-corrosion work on the multi-gate herringbone doors. , is the longest construction period, heaviest task, and most difficult process connection and coordination since the Three Gorges Ship Lock began to implement planned outage maintenance in 2012. The construction unit optimized some tooling and processes to improve construction efficiency and ensure construction safety.
The industrial control system is the "brain" of ship lock operation and is responsible for the operation and control of important equipment and facilities such as herringbone doors and anti-arc doors. The upgrade of the industrial control system of the Three Gorges North Line ship lock has further improved the safety and reliability of ship lock operation.
This anti-corrosion of the herringbone door is the largest anti-corrosion construction of the herringbone door since the planned shutdown of the Three Gorges Ship Locks in 2012. The Three Gorges Corporation River Basin Management Center collaborated with construction units to design and produce tooling in advance, and used rainproof cloth to seal the entire construction working surface, which greatly improved anti-corrosion construction conditions.
At the same time, in order to ensure the normal operation of the Three Gorges South Line ship locks and ship lifts during the maintenance period, the Three Gorges River Basin Management Center organized in advance to carry out enhanced shutdown maintenance of the South Line ship locks and ship lifts, and conducted comprehensive inspections and maintenance of equipment and facilities. And strengthened operational emergency safeguard measures.
The Three Gorges Northern Line Ship Lock resumed operation. Photo by Lu Caihong
During the maintenance period of the North Line Ship Lock of the Three Gorges, the South Line Ship Lock implements one-way traffic and regular reversal. The Three Gorges ship lift cooperates with ships that meet the passing conditions to quickly cross the dam. The Three Gorges hub shipping is smooth and orderly.
The Three Gorges Ship Lock is the largest, most technologically complex inland river lock in the world and an important water conservancy and navigation facility on the Yangtze River. Since it was opened to navigation in 2003, the Three Gorges Ship Lock has been operating safely and efficiently for more than 20 years, with a cumulative cargo volume of more than 2 billion tons passing through the lock. (over)