The cutter suction dredger Tian Kun Hao, Asia’s largest and most advanced dredging vessel, returned to Qidong City in East China’s Jiangsu Province today, after completing sea trials of nearly three months, reports Xinhua .
The dredger set sail off the Qidong’s coast in October for a mud-dredging trial, during which it dredged a maximum of 7,501 cubic meters per hour, delivered the excavated mud approx. 15 km away, and realized unmanned automatic dredging.
The cutter suction dredger, built for China Communications Construction Co. Ltd. (CCCC), was designed by the China State Shipbuilding Corporation, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Guangzhou Wenchong Shipyard as well as the China Merchants Industry, and was constructed by Shanghai Zhenhua Heavy Industries.
The self-propelled vessel, launched in November 2017 in Qidong, East China’s Jiangsu Province, is 140 meters long, has a width of 27.8 meters and is able to operate in depths of between 6 and 35 meters.
The Tian Kun Hao is larger and has greater capability than the Tian Jing Hao, formerly the largest cutter suction dredger in Asia.