Tsuji completes first vessel at China subsidiary

Shanghai: Tsuji Heavy Industries (Jiangsu) on Sept. l completed its first newbuilding the Tsukiboshi, a 3,675-dwt plant/steel carrier, reports the Kaiji Press. For its second newbuilding, the yard will build its own semi-submersible barge, and then proceed to the serial construction of 30,000-dwt bulkers, with the first bulker due to be completed in May 2008. Block fabrication has already started at the yard.

The yard in eastern China is equipped with two cascaded onshore slipways for constructing newbuildings, with the production of one ship and grand assembly blocks for the stern carried out in each slipway. Upon completion, the ship is transferred to the barge using the so-called air pad system (APS), which makes the hull float using high-pressure nitrogen gas, and then launched. Bulkers will be constructed at a pitch of three months per unit. The yard plans to establish a system capable of building eight ships annually.  [06/09/07]