Maritime security: Nanjing-manufactured ultra-large port machinery successfully exported.

On August 31, under the full support of the Nanjing Maritime Safety Administration, the self-propelled deck barge "Fanzhou 6" loaded with multiple pieces of heavy port equipment from Nanjing Port Machinery Heavy Industry successfully set sail from the Nanjing Port Machinery Factory Wharf. This marks the company's first successful roll-on shipment of large-scale port machinery equipment from its own dock. The simultaneous overseas shipment of multiple major pieces of equipment sets a new record in the company's shipping history and signifies further progress in the layout of Nanjing's high-end port equipment in the markets along the "Belt and Road" initiative.

The core loading and unloading equipment shipped this time, such as the quay cranes, weigh nearly a thousand tons each. After loading, the overall width reaches 97.8 meters, with the port side extending 44.2 meters and the starboard side extending 17.7 meters. The height of the ship above the waterline is approximately 48 meters. Once loaded, the equipment forms an ultra-wide and ultra-high heavy transport array, which is a typical example of oversized heavy cargo transportation. It is the largest heavy equipment shipped overseas from Nanjing in recent years, posing extremely high requirements for channel conditions, navigation control, and vessel traffic organization.

The hundreds of kilometers of the Yangtze River channel represent the first major challenge for this oversized vessel departing from Nanjing. The route is lined with numerous cross-river bridges, and some sections of the channel are winding and narrow. These challenges are compounded by the turbulent water flow during the flood season and the high density of vessel traffic, making the navigation risks and operational difficulties far greater than those of ordinary voyages.

To ensure the safety of this oversized and ultra-high vessel's navigation out of the Yangtze River, the Jiangsu Maritime Safety Administration coordinated and deployed measures, while the Nanjing Maritime Safety Administration proactively planned and implemented various safety measures. Before the vessel's departure, the Nanjing Maritime Safety Administration organized relevant units, including the port, pilotage, tugboats, and shipping companies, to conduct a comprehensive risk assessment. They tailored a navigation safety assurance plan based on the technical conditions of the oversized vessel, specifying voyage plans, escort and warning measures, and emergency response requirements. To address the navigational constraints of the Yingongzhou section, the Jiangsu Maritime Safety Administration coordinated with relevant units to optimize and adjust the vessel's navigation route, temporarily opening the northern channel of Hechangzhou as a dedicated passage for the ship. Maritime patrol boats from various branch bureaus were organized to provide relay escort and maintenance, with the Nanjing Maritime Safety Administration dispatching patrol boats to lead and maintain the vessel's navigation all the way to the Yangtze River estuary.

To address the high risks associated with the vessel's loading, the maritime authorities urged the shipowner to commission a third-party inspection agency to re-verify the maximum height of the vessel above the waterline after loading, ensuring the safety of the vessel's passage under bridges. Additionally, the Nanjing Maritime Safety Administration placed great emphasis on the safety of cargo securing and lashing. They organized ship safety inspection experts to conduct a special pre-departure inspection, rigorously checking the condition of cargo lashing and securing to ensure the vessel could withstand the impact of strong ocean waves, thereby laying a solid foundation for the safety of the entire voyage.

Nanjing, located at the terminus of the 12.5-meter deep-water channel of the Yangtze River, is the most convenient gateway to the sea for the mid-to-upper reaches of the Yangtze River. This major equipment export adopts a roll-on shipment method, eliminating the cumbersome steps of disassembly, transshipment, and reassembly in traditional transportation. This not only significantly shortens the shipping cycle but also ensures the precision of the equipment. It establishes the company's core competitiveness of "integrated production and transportation, whole-machine export," supports the efficiency upgrade of overseas ports, and drives the coordinated development of local equipment manufacturing, port logistics, and other upstream and downstream industries. It is a vivid example of "Nanjing Intelligent Manufacturing" advancing into the global market.

Moving forward, the Nanjing Maritime Safety Administration will closely align with the overall deployment of building Nanjing as an international comprehensive transportation hub city and a regional shipping and logistics center. Based on its core functions of navigation supervision, vessel support, and port services, it will continue to leverage its professional maritime advantages, further amplify the logistics channel effect of "Ning Cargo, Ning Export," and support Nanjing Port in deepening its network of ocean-going foreign trade routes, providing high-quality maritime services to safeguard the steady development of the local export-oriented economy.