38,528 cubic meters: A new height for China's dredging.

At the Nansha Port area of Guangzhou Port, the sea breeze carries a salty and moist scent. A giant ship, 198 meters in length and painted in blue and red, quietly docks. The two characters "Jun Guang" on its side shine brilliantly under the sunlight.

With a mud tank capacity of 38,528 cubic meters, equivalent to filling 18 standard swimming pools in one go, and a maximum dredging depth of 120 meters, enough to reach the seabed as tall as a 40-story building, it is the "Jun Guang," an ultra-large trailing suction hopper dredger with the largest mud tank capacity in Asia, rated at 35,000 cubic meters.

However, rewind to three years ago, and this giant ship was just a dream. At that time, the core technology for ultra-large trailing suction hopper dredgers with a capacity of over 30,000 cubic meters was entirely monopolized by European companies. The largest trailing suction hopper dredger in China had a capacity of only 20,000 cubic meters. High-end dredging equipment had long been constrained by foreign dependence, and the difficulty of importing key equipment left a deep impression on Chinese dredging professionals.

Starting in 2022, China Communications Construction Guangzhou Dredging Co., Ltd. led a top-tier team in collaboration with the National Dredging Research Center, ZPMC, the 708 Research Institute of China State Shipbuilding Corporation, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, and the Guangzhou branch of China Classification Society. Together, they launched a major scientific research project titled "Core Technology and Equipment Research for Ultra-Large Trailing Suction Hopper Dredgers with a Capacity of 30,000 Cubic Meters." A breakthrough battle from zero to one quietly began.

Seven Breakthrough Innovations

Ultra-large trailing suction hopper dredgers involve five key areas: ship design, mud tanks, power systems, intelligent control, and bow jet systems. Foreign technology blockades were like impenetrable walls—there were no ready-made blueprints to follow and no mature experiences to draw from. The team focused on independent innovation and full-chain leadership, tackling one tough challenge after another. They developed seven groundbreaking technologies, all of which have been successfully applied.

According to Jiang Song, Party Secretary and Chairman of China Communications Construction Guangzhou Dredging Co., Ltd., as the first 35,000-cubic-meter-class trailing suction hopper dredger in China, the "Jun Guang" boasts a mud tank capacity of 38,528 cubic meters, ranking first in Asia and second in the world. Equipped with world-class systems, its comprehensive performance is globally leading, filling the gap in China's ultra-large intelligent dredging equipment and achieving a generational leap from 20,000-cubic-meter-class to 35,000-cubic-meter-class trailing suction hopper dredgers.

The "Jun Guang" is the first in China to apply methanol dual-fuel technology for dredgers, with ample room reserved for power upgrades. After modifications, carbon emissions can be reduced by over 80%. The team's innovative "low-profile bulbous bow + parallel tail fin" low-resistance hull design reduces sailing resistance by 10% compared to similar ships, taking a solid step toward green transformation in the industry.

In the field of intelligent control, the team independently developed an intelligent dredging control system, breaking through the barriers of foreign high-end control technology. This system enables unmanned operation and automated tasks, earning the first batch of i-Ship certifications in China. The dual redundancy positioning technology combining Beidou and 5G has advanced construction precision to the centimeter level, turning the concept of smart operations into reality.

Based on the practice of the "Jun Guang," the team proposed and applied dual-operation draft marks for the first time in China, promoting the inclusion of freshwater freeboard standards into the "Rules for the Classification of Steel Ships," filling a gap in industry standards.

The world's first adjustable-angle dual bow jet system doubles operational efficiency compared to traditional designs, balancing rapid nearshore land formation with precise long-distance delivery. The domestically pioneered new structural design for the mud tank deck of giant trailing suction hopper dredgers effectively reduces steel usage, enhances structural bending resistance, and simultaneously improves loading efficiency. The independently developed multi-motor internal gear ring-driven hydraulic winch technology, with completely independent intellectual property rights, significantly enhances the safety redundancy of the dredging system and improves the stability and reliability of equipment operation. Each original technology, transformed from blueprint to reality, represents countless trials and refinements by the research team, countless late nights of hard work, and the unwavering determination of Chinese dredging professionals to overcome technical barriers.

All seven innovations have been implemented, with a localization rate exceeding 90%. The once-blocked high ground of technology has now been traversed by footprints of independent innovation.

Outstanding Performance Leading the Way

The range of construction scenarios for the "Jun Guang" is astonishing. With its shallow draft, it adapts flexibly to nearshore port channels, while its extreme dredging depth of 120 meters breaks the operational limitations of traditional trailing suction hopper dredgers. Its 50-ton super-heavy draghead has world-leading soil-breaking capabilities, effortlessly handling complex geological conditions.

Combining green and economic advantages with intelligence and efficiency, the "Jun Guang" consumes 10% less fuel than similar ships, supports centimeter-level precision construction, and enables fully automated dredging operations. It can operate stably in wind and wave conditions up to level 8.

With dual 8,000-kilowatt mud pumps and dual bow jet systems working in synergy, it achieves a discharge distance of over 12 kilometers and a maximum loading density of 1.76 tons per cubic meter. With a speed of 16.88 knots, it can operate continuously for 25 days with a range of 12,000 nautical miles. Under normal construction conditions, the mud tank can be fully loaded in just 90 minutes, and the single bow jet distance exceeds 180 meters. The comprehensive dredging performance of the "Jun Guang" has reached the forefront of international standards, rivaling or even surpassing foreign trailing suction hopper dredgers of the same class. It is not only a successful example of the efficient transformation of original scientific research projects by China Communications Construction Group but also a landmark achievement in the independent innovation of China's dredging equipment. It has been successively included in the National Development and Reform Commission's "Key Products for Domestic Use" list of "Green and Low-Carbon Advanced Technology Demonstration Projects," the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission's first batch of "Top 100 Projects" in strategic emerging industries, the "Top Ten Technological Innovations in Marine Engineering" by the Central Enterprise Marine Engineering Technology Innovation Consortium (2024-2026), and the "Guangdong Province First Set of Major Technical Equipment Promotion and Application Guidance Catalog (2024 Edition)."