Text by Ning Fang, Ma Liling & Meng Qi

Photos by Su Zhuolin

It was a sunny winter day on December 13, 2018.At 3:30 pm, we drove into Wuhan Yangluo Port Terminal where Hanhai-1, the largest ship in the upper and middle reaches of the Yangtze River, was berthed.

On seeing us, Duan Xinming,the captain, walked towards us from his working area, the crane frame. He wore a bright smile and walked with vigorous steps and powerful hands—this satisfaction and vigor illustrated to us the success of his working experience on the Yangtze River over the last 30 years.

“Big Mac” Carries a Thousand Containers a Time

What a thrilling experience it was to experience such scale! As the captain walked us to the dock area, a gigantic object gradually lifted its magic veil in front of us.The hull is so large we couldn't take in the whole ship in our field of view. We could only scan across it from the far stern.

The crane never stopped working, and proceeded to lift the containers, one after another, into a row of shore-line transporters.These containers were loaded with cargo from all over the world.“Hanhai-1” shipped them from Yangshan Port in Shanghai to Wuhan Port.

Along the steep gangway of the wharf, we all stepped down to a platform and then down to the ship using a bamboo ladder. The captain moved at a brisk pace, as if walking on the flat ground. We were frightened, for the bamboo ladder was only 30 centimeters wide, free from handrails,bouncing to and fro. What startled us most was that it was more than 10 meters above the turbid river.

Rarely do we consider that in a technology-dominant society,such a simple traditional climbing tool still could play an important role in the modern shipping industry.

The captain led us to the cockpit on the fourth floor. This spacious room was larger than the living room of a large villa,where various instruments were arranged in arcs. There were balancing plates, horizontal rulers, position indicators, and other instruments on the wall,along with a variety of signal flags,as well as Chinese and English contact tips. The cockpit was so well-lit and bright that the first mate could see all the gauges easily from the same spot.

Like heavy trucks, the cockpit functions as the bow and the fully loaded cabin functions as the hull. Ships are towed rather than carried out on the river.

Chief Mate Chen Hongbing,Chief Engineer Hu Wenhua,and Company Instructor Tang Pengcheng are all senior staff members who have certification as first-class captains and chief engineers. Speaking of the size of Hanhai-1, they introduced all kinds of data and information about the ship. “Before this ship,the largest one on the river could only hold about 600 containers,”the captain said. “This one is one compartment longer and one container wider.”

“It can load 1086 containers at a time, equivalent to 11 freight trains with 50 train cars at a time.And if it runs twenty times, the containers it carries can fill up one of the world's largest oceangoing container vessels. Thus, it is said that our ship has initiated a ‘Thousand-container Era' of inland river shipping on the Yangtze River,” the captain added,“The deck of our ship is as large as 7.5 standard basketball courts.”

“When the ship is empty, its highest point is more than 29 meters above the river, with a full load of more than 13,000 tons and a sink of about 6.6 meters,” added the chief mate, “At present, some bridges on the Yangtze River have restrained further development of the shipping industry. The distance between the bridge and the water surface is so limited that it hinders the building of big ships on the river.”

Reliable Performance Supported by Advanced Technologies

“Despite its large hull, it is much safer to operate than a smaller ship because of its reliable performance,” the captain said proudly. “The ship is 130 meters long and 23.9 meters wide. Due to the use of Guangchai power,double-drive and double-rudders,with more than 3,600 horsepower and more than 17,000 tons of cargo on board, it can be turned in situ within 200 meters.”

The captain further explained the specs. It can reach a speed of 11 knots when the ship is fully loaded. Such a speed has helped“Hanhai-1” earn the title of “highspeed train on water.” Because of its fast speed and quick rivercrossing abilities, it does not dominate waterway navigation and saves wharf locations. Before Hanhai-1 came into existence, it usually took two ships to carry the same amount of containers,and two and a half hours to shift and unload each boat at the port. In combination with the construction of Yangluo Port, the No. 1 quayside bridge with the capacity of lifting eight rows of containers, there has been increased efficiency in the capacity for loading containers from 28-30 natural containers to 31.5 per hour, thus saving space and time and greatly improving productivity.

Meanwhile, “Hanhai-1” has attached many conveniences to the crew's daily life. “It used to be the most difficult and dirty job to operate a turbine. Hour after hour of roaring noises can make one suffer from insomnia and nausea. Now that the engine is less noisy and fully automated,it is quite easy to operate just by sitting in the monitoring room,”the chief engineer beamed.“Now the ship is larger, but is managed by same amount of crew members. There are 11 crews on the whole ship, with three shifts of drivers and engineers, and even the bedrooms are bigger than before.” In the past, it took more than half a month to go back and forth to Shanghai by a smaller ship, but now it's done in eightdays. In addition, when loading and unloading cargo, the crew can take turns to reunite with their families, thus increasing their state of wellbeing.

The chief engineer introduced that “Hanhai-1” is an environmentally-friendly vessel. Because of its advanced equipment and lower noise, it minimizes harm to the fish in the river, and sometimes porpoises can be seen swimming not far from the ship. Moreover, the airtight design of the turbine is better, and the combustion is very efficient, which can reduce oil leakages and waste emissions.Furthermore, owing to the good economical benefits of larger ships, the smaller ships will gradually be eliminated, thereby reducing pollution on the river.

River-Sea Linkage Ignites the Development of Relevant Regions

It is reported that large enterprises such as Wuhan New Port, COSCO Shipping,China Changjiang National Shipping Group, Zhonggu Shipping and WUT SHIP have signed agreements to build five ships of this kind in Wuhu Port, Anhui Province—forming a transportation fleet from Wuhan to Shanghai,building a comprehensive threedimensional transportation corridor in Central China,and promoting the overall development of the Yangtze River Economic Belt.

The debut of a “Thousandcontainer Era” not only marks an epoch-making moment for China's inland waterway shipping industry, but will also transform the model of transportation and river-sea intermodal transportation in Central China,thus making Wuhan an important supporting hub of “all upstream transit and full downstream diversion.” Wuhan New Port will further facilitate Yangluo Port's water and rail transit network and increase its service to provinces such as Sichuan, Chongqing,Hubei, Hunan, Guizhou, and Yunnan, as well as cities in the upper and middle reaches of the Yangtze River. It will also promote trade between these provinces and other countries in East Asia, Northeast Asia, the Pacific, and America.

胡文華在輪機(jī)監(jiān)控室Chief Engineer Hu Wenhua in the engine control room

It is reported that Wuhan New Port Management Committee will further develop the “Wuhan-Asia” ships sailing from Wuhan to Korea and Japan on the basis of the riversea direct ship type and initiate an era of international riversea intermodal transportation in Wuhan, meaning Wuhan will become a “seaport” for the central and western parts of China. At present, the 6-meter deep waterway regulation project of the Wuhan-Anqing section(abbreviated to the “Wu-An section”) of the Yangtze River,with a total investment of 3.7 billion yuan, has been fully launched. After the completion of the project, the minimum maintenance water depth of the 386.5-kilometer stretch in the Wu-An section will be increased from 4.5 meters to 6 meters. This will allow 13,000 tons of inland river vessels and 10,000-ton-level river-sea vessels to reach Wuhan all year round, even in the dry season, which will greatly increase shipping capacity.

In excavating the Yangtze River, many measures have been taken to promote ecological health in the Yangtze River.These measures include aquatic biological proliferation and drainage, ecological wetland construction, and fish nest bricks and rows.

Captain Duan Xinming stressed that doing things well depends greatly on talent. At present, nearly one million Chinese sailors are engaged in water transportation, while few brilliant crew members have united together for decades as they did in forming an “iron triangle” working team. With the continuous improvement and upgrade of water transportation equipment, China hungers for more first-class captains, first mates, and chief engineers who can navigate rivers and seas and promote the cooperation and mutual development of the“Maritime Silk Road” between China and other countries of the world.

(Translation: Qing Run)

“漢海1號”開啟內(nèi)河“千箱時(shí)代”

文 /寧 芳 馬立玲 孟 齊 攝影 /蘇卓琳

2018年12月13日，一個(gè)難得的溫暖冬日。下午3點(diǎn)半，我們采訪小組駕車駛進(jìn)了武漢陽邏港碼頭，長江中上游新近首航的最大江輪“漢海1號”停泊在這里。

船長段新明從正在工作的起重機(jī)架下走向我們，笑容可掬，步伐健朗，剛勁有力的雙手記錄著長江上30多年的航程與滄桑。

“巨無霸”，一趟千箱

登船體驗(yàn)有點(diǎn)出乎預(yù)料。船長帶著我們移步到碼頭邊，一個(gè)龐然大物漸漸揭開面紗，船身大到我們無法將它盡收眼底，只能讓目光從遠(yuǎn)處的船尾掃視過來。

起重機(jī)并沒有停下，繼續(xù)把一個(gè)船艙里碼放整齊的集裝箱一個(gè)一個(gè)地提起，挪到岸上一溜排開的轉(zhuǎn)運(yùn)卡車上。這些集裝箱裝載著來自世界各地的貨物，“漢海1號”把它們從上海的洋山港運(yùn)到這里。

我們沿著碼頭陡峭的舷梯下到一處平臺，再通過一個(gè)普通的竹梯下到船上。船長輕快利索，如履平地，我們卻著實(shí)心驚膽戰(zhàn)了一回。竹梯只有大約30厘米寬，沒有扶手，一步一彈，更令人驚悚的是下離江面還有10多米高，渾濁的江水輕微地晃動著。

沒想到，科學(xué)高速發(fā)展的今天，傳統(tǒng)的登高工具還發(fā)揮著如此重要的作用。

船長帶著我們沿著舷梯，一直爬到位于第四層的駕駛艙。這個(gè)寬大的空間比一般別墅的會客廳還大，各種儀表呈弧形擺開，壁上掛著平衡盤、水平尺、定位儀等各種儀器，還放著各種信號旗，以及中英文聯(lián)絡(luò)提示語等。駕駛艙通透明亮，大副的視野可以達(dá)到240度。跟重卡一樣，駕駛艙是船頭，滿載的船艙則是船身。輪船在江上是拖行而非推行。

大副陳紅兵、輪機(jī)長胡文華和公司指導(dǎo)唐鵬程等都是持有一級船長、輪機(jī)長資格證的資深人士。說起“漢海1號”之大，他們紛紛介紹起船的各種數(shù)據(jù)?！霸谶@艘船之前，前面那條船是江上最大的，它能裝600多箱。”船長指著江面說，“我們這艘比它長一個(gè)艙位，寬一個(gè)箱位?！?/p>

漢海1號在武漢陽邏港卸貨A container being lifted up from Hanhai-1 at Wuhan Yangluo Port

“我們一次可以裝1086箱，一次運(yùn)量相當(dāng)于11列50節(jié)車廂的貨運(yùn)列車，跑二十次的運(yùn)量就可以裝滿一艘世界最大的集裝箱遠(yuǎn)洋貨輪，所以說，我們這艘船開啟了長江內(nèi)河航運(yùn)的‘千箱時(shí)代’?！陛啓C(jī)長補(bǔ)充道，“這艘船的舺板面積有7.5個(gè)標(biāo)準(zhǔn)籃球場那么大?！?/p>

“空船時(shí)，船最高點(diǎn)離江面29米多，滿載可達(dá)13000多噸，吃水6.6米左右?！贝蟾苯舆^話頭，“目前，長江上有些橋梁已經(jīng)成了影響航運(yùn)的因素，橋身與水面距離太短，影響江輪進(jìn)一步往高大方向發(fā)展?！?/p>

性能全，科技護(hù)航

漢海1號設(shè)備先進(jìn)Advanced equipment in the cockpit of Hanhai-1

“別看這艘船體大身重，由于性能好，操作起來比小船還穩(wěn)當(dāng)?！贝L列出幾項(xiàng)參數(shù)，“這艘船長130米，寬23.9米，由于采用廣柴動力，雙驅(qū)雙舵，3600多馬力，連船帶貨17000多噸，可以在200米范圍內(nèi)原地調(diào)頭?！?/p>

大副陳紅兵（左）、船長段新明（中）和輪機(jī)長胡文華（右）在駕駛艙Chief Mate Chen Hongbing (left), Captain Duan Xinming (middle), and Chief Engineer Hu Wenhua (right) in the cockpit

據(jù)船長介紹，這艘船滿載時(shí)，航速可達(dá)11節(jié)。這樣的速度使得“漢海1號”有了“水上高鐵”的稱號。由于它速度快，通過江面也很快，所以不占航道?！皾h海1號”還省碼頭。同樣數(shù)量的集裝箱，以前需要兩艘船運(yùn)載，兩船進(jìn)出港換檔卸貨需要2個(gè)半小時(shí)。陽邏港建造之初，就超前設(shè)計(jì)的具有吊裝八排集裝箱能力的1號岸橋，終于可以派上用場，使重箱裝船效率從28～30自然箱/小時(shí)提升到31.5自然箱/小時(shí)，節(jié)省了空間、時(shí)間，效率大為改善。

“漢海1號”為船員們的生活帶來了很多便利。“以前操控輪機(jī)是天底下最吃虧的事情，幾個(gè)小時(shí)輪機(jī)轟鳴聲能讓你難受到失眠、惡心，現(xiàn)在輪機(jī)不僅噪音小了，還全部自動化，操作輪機(jī)只需坐在監(jiān)控室里觀察調(diào)控就輕松搞定。”這是輪機(jī)長最切身的感受。“船大了，船員還是那么多。全船11個(gè)人，駕駛、輪機(jī)三班倒，連睡覺的房間都大些?！币郧伴_小船，武漢到上海一個(gè)來回要半個(gè)多月，現(xiàn)在8天搞定，而且裝卸貨物時(shí)，船員們還可以輪流與家人團(tuán)聚，幸福指數(shù)提高了。

輪機(jī)長介紹，“漢海1號”還創(chuàng)造了很高的環(huán)保價(jià)值。由于設(shè)備先進(jìn)，噪音小，減少了對水中魚類的影響，有時(shí)在離船不遠(yuǎn)的地方還會看到江豚。而且，輪機(jī)的密封性能比較好，燃燒非常充分，可以減少油漏和廢氣排放。再者，由于大船效益好，小船會逐漸被淘汰，從而減少江上船只的污染排放量。

江海通，區(qū)域拉動

據(jù)報(bào)道，武漢新港、中遠(yuǎn)海運(yùn)、長航集團(tuán)、中谷海運(yùn)、武漢理工船舶等大型企業(yè)已經(jīng)簽訂協(xié)議，將在安徽蕪湖等港繼續(xù)建造5艘這樣的大船，形成武漢到上海江海直達(dá)運(yùn)輸船隊(duì)，構(gòu)建華中綜合立體交通走廊，推動長江經(jīng)濟(jì)帶發(fā)展。

“千箱時(shí)代”的開啟，不僅對中國內(nèi)河航運(yùn)有著劃時(shí)代的意義，更將改變?nèi)A中地區(qū)交通運(yùn)輸和江海聯(lián)運(yùn)格局，使武漢成為“上游全中轉(zhuǎn)、下游全分流”的重要支撐節(jié)點(diǎn)。武漢新港將進(jìn)一步完善陽邏港水運(yùn)、水鐵聯(lián)運(yùn)中轉(zhuǎn)網(wǎng)絡(luò)，加大對長江中上游川、渝、鄂、湘、貴、滇等省市的服務(wù)能力，為這些省份與東亞、東北亞、太平洋和美洲諸國的貿(mào)易往來提供便利。

此外，武漢新港管委會還將在江海直達(dá)船型的基礎(chǔ)上，進(jìn)一步研發(fā)武漢至韓國和日本的“漢亞型”船，開辟武漢國際江海聯(lián)運(yùn)時(shí)代，使武漢真正成為中國中西部“海港”。目前，總投資37億元的長江武漢至安慶段（簡稱武安段）6米水深航道整治工程全面啟動。工程建成后，武安段386.5公里的航道最低維護(hù)水深將由現(xiàn)在的4.5米加深至6米，可實(shí)現(xiàn)13000噸內(nèi)河船舶、萬噸級江海船舶常年直達(dá)武漢，不受枯水季節(jié)限制，大大提升航運(yùn)能力。

在江深整治的同時(shí)，工程將采取水生生物增殖放流、疏浚土營造生態(tài)濕地、使用魚巢磚和魚巢排等生態(tài)結(jié)構(gòu)等多種措施，促進(jìn)長江生態(tài)大保護(hù)。

凡事要靠人，段新明說，目前，中國從事水運(yùn)事業(yè)的大軍近百萬，而像他們這樣的核心船員幾十年緊緊抱在一起、組成“鐵三角”的并不多。在水上運(yùn)輸設(shè)備不斷改進(jìn)升級的同時(shí)，中國需要更多一等一的船長、大副、輪機(jī)長去搏擊江海，推動中國與世界其他國家“海上絲綢之路”的不斷延伸和融合發(fā)展。