GSI delivers dual-fuel vessel and luxury ferry

On Wednesday, Guangzhou Shipyard International, a subsidy of State-owned China State Shipbuilding Corp, delivered a luxury ro-ro passenger ship and a 16,000 TEU dual fuel container vessel to its buyers in its shipyard area in Guangzhou's Nansha district.

The two vessels have been optimized and upgraded based on their original ship types, demonstrating China's breakthroughs in high-end ship design and construction, according to a statement released by GSI on Wednesday.

The ro-ro passenger ship, GNV Orion, is the second of the four Ro-Pax passenger ships GSI built for Italian company Grandi Navi Veloci, a ferry operator under MSC Group. The first ship, GNV Polaris, delivered last October, is now operating in Europe, serving routes across the Mediterranean, said the statement.

The new ship's power system uses four 9-cylinder medium-speed diesel engines, which can reach a speed of 25 knots (46.3 kilometers an hour) and a range of 3,500 nautical miles at 83.5 percent rated power.

The GNV Orion now has 12 decks and 492 cabins of various types and reaches a passenger capacity of 1,785 after the upgrade. It is 218 meters long and 29.6 meters wide and has a depth of 10 meters and a designed draft of 6.45 meters. It has a deadweight tonnage of 52,912 metric tons and a carrying capacity of 7,994 metric tons.

The vessel features various leisure and entertainment venues, including buffets, cafes, sightseeing halls, pizza shops, duty-free shops, aviation-style seating areas, children's play areas and open-air bars.

Thus far, GSI has successfully delivered 33 LNG dual fuel vessels, covering various types such as luxury roll-on/roll-off passenger ships, oil tankers and pure car truck carriers.

GSI is a Shanghai Stock Exchange-listed company located on Longxue Island at the mouth of the Pearl River.