On September 1, M.V. YUAN HAI SI LU — the world’s first 325,000-deadweight-ton methanol dual-fuel Very Large Ore Carrier (VLOC), built by COSCO SHIPPING Heavy Industry and operated by COSCO SHIPPING Bulk, and equipped with the world’s first ship digital delivery system — was officially named in Yangzhou, China.

The vessel is 339.9 meters in length and 62 meters in breadth, with a deadweight capacity of 325,000 tons. It can carry 325,000 tons of iron ore in a single voyage — equivalent of the same weight of steel for building eight Bird’s Nest Stadiums in Beijing. What truly sets the vessel apart is the “dual” concept that runs through the entire process of the vessel’s design, construction, and operation.

Dual Power Systems: Flexible switching between methanol and fuel oil

The vessel can operate on two types of fuel: conventional fuel oil and green methanol. When powered by green methanol, the vessel can reduce carbon emission by approximately 50,000 tons per year — equivalent to planting 2.9 million trees — while cutting sulfur oxide emissions to nearly zero and substantially reducing nitrogen oxides. A single methanol bunkering operation enables an approximately 20,000 nautical miles’ voyage, almost enough to circumnavigate the earth along the equator; at the same time, the vessel can seamlessly switch to conventional fuel oil, completely eliminating range anxiety on long voyages.

Digital Deliveries: World’s first digital delivery system for vessel using digital twin

The vessel is equipped with the world’s first ship digital delivery system, creating a digital twin of the ship. Under traditional ship delivery, shipowners must receive massive volumes of drawings, certificates, and equipment manuals; looking up the specifications of components such as valves often requires consulting multiple documents, with information scattered and retrieval cumbersome.

The digital delivery mode achieves a 1:1 three-dimensional model of the entire vessel — from large compartments down to piping and valve components — with all accompanying documentation, including drawings, certificates, equipment records, maintenance plans, and spare parts lists, available at the click of a button. This delivery connects the full business chain of “design–procurement–construction–delivery–maintenance.” What the shipowner receives is not only a physical giant vessel but also a complete, accurate, and traceable set of digital assets, with synchronized delivery of lightweight 3D models — delivering the ship with its data.

Dual‑track R&D: Two‑pronged breakthroughs in independent design and domestic-built equipment

R&D Track One — Independent design: Since 2024, the construction team has completed an integrated low-resistance, high-efficiency overall design, with hull lines, propellers, and energy-saving appendices fully protected by independent intellectual property rights. Compared with the mother ship, component parts have been reduced by more than 20,000 items, bar material types down 28%, and section steel types down 41%.

R&D Track Two — Domestic -built equipment: A large batch of core equipment has achieved domestic application, including the WinGD methanol dual-fuel main engine, the Haidun methanol dual-fuel boiler, the CRRC shaft generator, and modular elevators.

Multiple technological breakthroughs have also been achieved in details. At the smart ship level, the vessel complies with the relevant CCS smart ship standards and is capable of panoramic situational awareness, tiered safety alerts, and intelligent decision support, enhancing navigation safety. It has completed the first autonomous voyage in open water by a large domestic cargo vessel, marking a major upgrade of the ship’s intelligent systems. Cargo hold capacity is more than 40% greater than that of traditional ore carriers of the same size, enabling the carriage of both iron ore and low-density bauxite with full holds and full deadweight. The hull has also been specifically optimized for wind and wave conditions in the mid-to-high latitude waters of the Indian Ocean, improving the vessel’s overall performance by more than 5%.