San Sha No. 1, the first Ro-Pax ferry purposely designed and built in China for the Chinese market, entered service on January 1.
San Sha was delivered to China’s southernmost city Sansha in Hainan Province to tackle the city’s lack of transportation capacity. The ship can carry wheeled cargo, containers, trailers, as well as passengers.
Measuring 122.3 meters in length and 21 meters in width, the ship has a displacement of 7,800 tons with endurance of 6,000 nautical miles. It can accommodate up to 456 passengers and 20 standard trailers.
Once in operation, the ship will shorten the cruise time from Qinglan Port in Wenchang city, Hainan Province to Yongxing Island of Sansha City from 15 hours to 10 hours.
The Qiongsha No.3 Ship, currently in use, has not been able to satisfy the transportation needs of Sansha city, due to its relatively small tonnage.
Bo-Hai Shipyard was commissioned to build the ferry, based on the design provided by Knud E. Hansen naval architects.