World's largest electric-powered intelligent container ship sets sail

The world’s largest and China’s first 10,000-ton pure electric intelligent container vessel, named “Ning Yuan Dian Kun”, built by Jiangxi Jiangxin Shipbuilding Co., Ltd for Ningbo Ocean Shipping Co., Ltd, set sail on April 15 from the Beilun Port area of Ningbo-Zhoushan Port bound for the Zhapu Port area of Jiaxing Port, marking the official start of its commercial operations, and ushering in a new phase of exploration and development for China’s coastal container shipping driven by pure electric power and intelligent navigation.

The vessel measures 127.8 meters in length, 21.6 meters in width, and 10.5 meters in molded depth, with a carrying capacity of 742 TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent unit). The vessel is powered by 10 containerized batteries with a total storage capacity of about 20,000 kWh, equivalent to the combined battery capacity of about 300 household electric vehicles. It is expected to save 580 tons of fuel a year and reduce carbon dioxide emissions by more than 1,400 tons after being put into operation, delivering genuinely zero-emission, zero-pollution voyages. Previously, the shipbuilding program was selected as a “Demonstration Project Featuring Advanced Green and Low-carbon Technologies” by the National Development and Reform Commission.

The vessel is deeply integrated with an intelligent platform and smart engine-room system, and is equipped with core autonomous navigation technologies for open waters. It features a full suite of smart functions, including real-time panoramic vessel monitoring, all-weather visual perception, autonomous route planning, automatic collision-avoidance alerts, and dual navigation modes of manual and intelligent operation. The solution fills a domestic technological gap in the intelligent control of 10,000-tonne-class all-electric seagoing vessels and offers a new benchmark for coastal smart shipping worldwide.

The shipbuilding industry is a highly integrated sector that involves numerous components, extensive supply chains, and a high degree of industrial correlation. Jiujiang City was one of the three major shipbuilding bases in the Yangtze River Basin. Jiangxin Shipbuilding Co., Ltd, located in Jiujiang City, has strong technological expertise, efficient organizational capacity, and advanced supply chain integration capabilities. In 2024, Ningbo Ocean Shipping Co., Ltd awarded Jiangxin Shipbuilding Co., Ltd a contract for two 740 TEU all-electric open-top container seagoing vessels. Over the past two years, the two companies, together with the Shanghai Merchant Ship Design and Research Institute (SDARI), the No.704 Research Institute of China State Shipbuilding Co., Ltd (CSSC), and China Classification Society (CCS), have overcome key technical challenges, including the coordinated control of large-capacity battery systems and propulsion systems, innovative energy supply systems, and ship intelligence technologies. In September 2025, “Ning Yuan Dian Kun” was successfully launched. In February 2026, it departed from its dock in Hukou County of Jiujiang City in Jiangxi Province, for sea trials in designated waters of the East China Sea. Over two months, it completed autonomous navigation tests in open waters. A representative of Ningbo Ocean Shipping Co., Ltd said in an interview that its sister ship, “Ning Yuan Dian Peng”, is scheduled to begin trial voyages in May and be delivered in June. Once both vessels are put into operation, they will begin scaled-up service on designated routes.