China Merchants Industry delivers first polar cruise vessel

China Merchants Industry Holdings Co, the marine and offshore manufacturing arm of State-owned China Merchants Group, delivered the first polar cruise foray to its ship's owner in its production base in Haimen, eastern China's Jiangsu province on Friday, China Merchants Group announced on its website. 

This is part of a 10-cruise ship deal for polar expeditions between the Chinese shipbuilder and the Miami-based SunStone Ships Inc. The 104.4-meter long vessel is 18.4 meters at the beam, and can operate at a speed of 16.3 knots. With a gross tonnage of 8,035 metric tons, it has a passenger capacity of 254.

It took 28 months to complete this project, with 40 percent of materials and technology contributed by domestic companies. 

The State-owned company said with improved industrial chains, between 70 and 80 percent of core materials and equipment will be provided by Chinese manufacturers to build the high-end vessel in the next stage.