China Delivers First ‘Smart’ VLCC

China’s largest shipbuilder Dalian Shipbuilding Industries (DSIC) has delivered what it says is the world’s first “smart” Very Large Crude Oil Carrier to China Merchants Energy Shipping (CMES).

The 308,000 DWT supertanker, named New Journey, has been under development for the past three years as part of a joint R&D project between CMES, DSIC and China Shipbuilding & Offshore International (CSOC). According to DSIC, the “smart” features focussed five major shipboard functions including navigation auxiliary autopilot, smart liquid cargo management, integrated energy efficiency management, equipment operation and maintenance, and smart ship-to-shore communication.

The ship is the first VLCC with ship notations of i-SHIP?I?N?M?Et?C?and OMBO from China Classification Society.