At 2 a.m. today, China's first domestic large cruise ship began to fill and float, and is about to begin the final test preparations before undocking, which is expected to be officially undocked on June 6.

The emergence of this ship fills the gap of domestic large cruise ships and achieves a breakthrough in the field of domestic large cruise ships.

There are 2125 passenger compartments

It can accommodate up to 5246 passengers

China's first domestic large cruise ship has a total length of 323.6 meters, a beam of 37.2 meters, a total of 2500 million parts, and a total of 2826 cabins. Among them, there are 2125 passenger cabins and 701 crew cabins, with a total area of about 34600,5246 square meters and a maximum capacity of 16,<> passengers. The <>-storey superstructure living area, with a wealth of leisure facilities such as theaters, specialty restaurants, shopping plazas, art corridors and water parks, is known as a mobile "modern city on the sea".

As a giant system project that integrates and intensifies modern industry and modern urban construction, large-scale cruise ships represent a country's equipment manufacturing capacity and comprehensive scientific and technological level. Due to the extremely high difficulty of design and construction, together with large liquefied natural gas carriers and aircraft carriers, it is known as the "three crown jewels" of the shipbuilding industry, which tests not only shipbuilding technology and technology, but also management mode and supporting related industries.

Construction began in 2019

A series of scientific and technological innovation achievements have been formed

China's first domestic large-scale cruise ship officially started construction in Waigaoqiao Shipbuilding in 2019, and in more than three years, the cruise project team has successively conquered the three core technologies throughout the cruise life cycle, such as weight control, vibration and noise reduction and safe return to port, and has formed a series of scientific and technological innovation achievements.

The cruise ship will enter the final stages of construction and interior fit-out

To build a cruise ship, there are many key nodes from the first cut of steel plate to the final delivery for operation. Among them, the undocking marks the final stage of construction and interior decoration of the cruise ship, officially opening a new chapter of the cruise ship's underwater water.

Undocking refers to the operation of floating the ship that has completed the construction work in the dock and leading it out of the dock to stop at the dock. For cruise ships, the conditions for undocking mean that the main core equipment and pipelines on board are basically installed.

It can be said that the dock has witnessed the process of cruise ship construction and growth along the way, and leaving the dock means that the cruise ship has grown up and has the ability to sail. In order to ensure the performance of the cruise ship's systems, several safety inspections must be carried out before the dock is filled with water to prepare for the official undocking.

Wei Shengsheng, Deputy Director of the Cruise Project Department of China Ship Waigaoqiao Shipbuilding: Generally speaking, we still have certain requirements for this ship before we undock, such as that all our hulls must have a certain structure and strength to meet the floating water. Second, these open areas connected to all outer plates, including some valves, are already watertight.

Float first out of the dock

Conduct multiple rounds of security checks at all times

If the cruise ship wants to leave the dock, the first job is to be able to float on the water, which is what we call floating, for this behemoth, how to float?

The first step in floating is to divert water into the dock, lift the ship off the ground by buoyancy, and then move the ship from its current position in the dock to the side near the dock by means of a tow rope.

Wei Shengsheng, Deputy Director of the Cruise Project Department of China Ship Waigaoqiao Shipbuilding: We will use the steel cables on both sides to tow the ship to the front dock room, and then carry out some corresponding mooring tests, and after doing it, a tugboat will come in on the day of docking, and then tie our ship all the way to the outfitting dock.

It is not easy to get such a large ship to float and move steadily. Therefore, during the process of floating on the cruise ship, the staff must carry out multiple rounds of safety inspections at all times.

Wei Shengsheng, Deputy Director of the Cruise Project Department of China Ship Waigaoqiao Shipbuilding: First of all, we have to conduct several safety inspections during the process of adding water to ensure that all our outer plates, including welds, are not leaking. Second, our ship is very large and needs to float, and the first and tail tilt cannot exceed a certain limit value.

The entire float takes about 6-8 hours, but due to the large size of the cruise ship, it is difficult to observe subtle position changes with the naked eye. Therefore, during the floating process, many sensors are installed on the hull, so that the floating attitude of the whole ship can be monitored in real time.

In summer, typhoons often occur in the coastal areas where the shipyard is located, which is also one of the important factors affecting the floating work.

Wei Shengsheng, Deputy Director of the Cruise Project Department of China Ship Waigaoqiao Shipbuilding: The superstructure of the cruise ship is particularly high, so the wind area is particularly large, if it is greater than 6~7 level wind, in fact, it still has a certain impact on our floating operation. (CCTV News Client)