CSSC Chengxi Shipyard has delivered the first of five 41,800-dwt bidirectional self-unloading transhipment vessels for Guinea’s Simandou iron ore project, according to China State Shipbuilding Corporation.
The 215-metre ship is claimed to set three world records: the largest shallow-draft self-unloading transhipment vessel by deadweight, the fastest purpose-built self-unloader by discharge rate and the first vessel of its size with bidirectional navigation.
The DNV-classed newbuilding has a beam of 42 metres, a depth of 14.5 metres and a design draught of 7.5 metres. Its nearly 135-metre cargo hold has a capacity of 29,000 cubic metres, while a double hull, double bottom and diesel-electric propulsion form part of the design.
Two independent C-type lifting systems provide combined discharge capacity of 12,000 tonnes per hour, allowing a full cargo to be unloaded in less than 3.5 hours. The load is equivalent to nearly 700 standard rail wagons extending more than 7 km.
Two reversible longitudinal conveyor belts support single- or dual-side operations, while two telescopic discharge booms on the starboard side have working radii of between 32.5 metres and 45.5 metres.
The ship contains more than 357 km of cabling, over four times the amount installed on a conventional 82,000-dwt bulker. Six generator sets deliver total output of 15,704 kW.
The five-vessel fleet is intended to transfer and load 200,000 tonnes of ore onto an ocean-going bulker within 24 hours. The vessel can make 12 knots astern in ballast and 10.5 knots ahead when fully loaded, with ballast speed exceeding 7 knots in very shallow water.
Two forward and three aft azimuth thrusters, fore and aft wheelhouses and a DP0 joystick system allow it to berth without tug assistance. The discharge rate is 71% higher than the 7,000 tonnes per hour achieved by the gravity self-unloader Manhadi, delivered in May 2025 after a six-month conversion.
Chengxi began working on self-unloaders in 1998 with the conversion of the Thai-flagged Fuji Shan and completed a 74,000-dwt conversion in 2006. Subsequent projects covered vessels of 35,500 dwt, 71,900 dwt, 21,500 dwt, 26,000 dwt, 40,000 dwt and 100,000 dwt. By 2026, it had repaired, converted or built nearly 100 self-unloaders across screw, pneumatic, grab, water-wheel and gravity systems. It claims the largest share of the global self-unloader market.
China State Shipbuilding Corporation is a centrally administered Chinese state-owned industrial group. CSSC Chengxi Shipyard is a shipbuilding, repair and conversion company within the group.