New platform workboat to serve for South China Sea drilling

WUHAN - China's largest offshore platform workboat was delivered on Thursday.

Wuchuan Shipbuilding Heavy Industry Co Ltd produced the vessel, which has a gross tonnage of 5,300 tons, for Shanghai Salvage Co at a cost of nearly 500 million yuan ($83 million).

The workboat, which measures 89.2 meters in length and 22 meters in molded breadth, has a drag force of 296 tons, which makes it able to tow floating drilling platforms that weigh over several thousand tons.

Christened as HUAHU (or China Tiger), the workboat will serve offshore tugging and freight transportation services and assist offshore oilfield drilling operations in the South China Sea.

Yang Zhigang, board chairman of Wuchuan shipbuilding, said HUAHU boasts an advanced remote-control underwater robot, which can submerge to depths of 3,000 meters, and it can operate in high winds and typhoons.

The company's independently-developed workboat has broken up the market monopoly held by European shipbuilders, said Yang, adding that the company had received 10 overseas orders for the vessel.