中远海运特运:匠心绘制“21世纪海上丝绸之路”工笔画
2019-09-10蔡梓涵
蔡梓涵
中远海运特运公司董事长丁农:在“一带一路”倡议下,公司建设多点开花,北极“冰上丝绸之路”实现常态化运营,绿色能源LNG罐箱搭乘海运专列驶往千家万户,“天福”轮勇救遇险女帆船手……这些令人振奋的成绩,说明落实社会责任,实现企业、社会和环境的动态平衡,树立良好的声誉和形象,是公司可持续发展的必由之路。
Ding Nong, Chairman of the Board of COSCO SHIPPING Specialized Carriers Co., Ltd. : “Actively responding to the Belt and Road Initiative, our company has achieved success in many aspects of its operation: shipments through the ‘Arctic Silk Road on Ice’ have been ritualized; green energy in LNG tank containers has been shipped to thousands of households by specialized cargo freighters; general cargo ship ‘Tian Fu’ rescued the female sailboat racer (Susie Goodall) in distress... these exciting achievements show that the company’s sustainable development can only be realized by fulfilling its social responsibility, maintaining the dynamic balance among the enterprise, society and environment, and establishing a good corporate reputation and image.”
中远海运船舶成功穿越北极“冰上丝绸之路”开辟亚欧贸易新航道。
中远海运特运首次装运海上巨无霸风塔。
打破全球半潜船DP(动态定位)安装货物最重等多项纪录。
特运重吊船开创“安装+运输+安装”服务客户新模式。
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近年来,中远海运特运公司坚持“特”字为先,坚持科学发展、创新发展,通过不断深化对行业规律、市场规律和企业规律的探索,逐步淘汰低效落后产能,提升高附加值货物比例,不断增强船舶承运能力,持续盘活优化内部资源,进一步释放高质量发展活力。从“以特种船为主的杂货船队”到“以特种专业运输船为主的多用途运输船队”,从“成为特种专业运输市场的系统集成者”到“成为国际领先的工程物流服务商”,中远海运特运坚持技术优先的高质量发展战略,在国际海运市场上实现了“跟跑、共跑、领跑”三大跨越。
在1998年以前,西方发达国家的航运企业垄断了市场上超高、超大、超长、超重、超宽的特种货物运输。中国从国外进口的大量重型装备,几乎都是由国外船公司承运。中国的企业,不仅采购设备花了大价钱,运费也非常昂贵。1998年,中远海运公司开始进军特种货物运输市场,由于货运技术底子薄,导致经营效益不理想。2002-2003年,公司接入新型半潜船“泰安口”“康盛口”轮。但开始的几年,这些半潜船装载工程技术对外方依赖较高,从运输方案,到现场指导的港口船长、工程技术人员,大多由外方安排。一个方案高达数十万美元,港口船长和工程技术人员的费用标准也很高,半潜船盈利能力非常薄弱。
公司意识到,特种货运技术管理是公司开拓海洋工程和重大件运输市场的重要瓶颈,在整个运输服务链条中占据关键地位。而且,货运技术队伍的规模与质量,日益成为高端客户选择承运船舶的重要考量因素。因此,提高公司货运技术管理水平,壮大公司货运技术队伍,关乎公司战略目标的实现。
为突破重大件运输瓶颈,实现企业战略目标,公司坚持技术领先战略,在不断调整船隊结构的同时,努力提高货运技术,抢占行业制高点,走出了一条独具特色的创新之路。
随着船队结构升级提速,2011年6月公司整合货运技术、港口船长、货运监督三个模块资源,调集技术骨干和技术能手,组建成立了亚洲船公司第一个货运技术中心,负责货物装卸方案设计、货物配载、监装、监卸等工作,特别是为海工产品、成套设备和重大件货物的装卸和运输提供专业技术保障。该团队选调了“中远集团”十杰青年、具有十余年半潜船作业经验的优秀半潜船船长蔡连财作为负责人,并引进了多名船舶海洋工程专业人才,重点加强了工程技术力量。
货运技术中心总经理蔡连财介绍:“货运技术中心包含工程技术、港口船长、危品货监等三个板块,工程技术人员制定运输方案,港口船长负责现场指挥执行,危品货监负责特殊性质货物的技术指导。”货运技术中心成立后,首要任务就是做好技术的普及和协同运用,一方面逐船发放编印成册的货运技术知识;另一方面,在团队内部乃至经营、船舶管理等部门之间共享货运信息,综合运用货运技术。例如,工程技术人员制定的装卸方案,要咨询港口船长是否具备实操的可行性;港口船长制定了装卸货方案,需要技术人员计算风流数据和评估船舶硬件能力。通过大家合作设计方案,共享技术知识,互补实践经验,货运技术中心团队的能力得到了快速提升。
货运技术中心成立后,制订了各类货物装卸和绑扎标准,统一了港口船长工作规范,推进货运技术的标准化、制度化、规范化和可操作化。2014年7月,发布了《货运技术汇编》,把常用的技术要点、事故案例、经验技巧等编成册,为方便快捷完成各种运输方案打下基础。针对公司存在的预配环节薄弱,没有合适的配载软件,配载图制作落后这一货运管理短板,货运技术中心通过向竞争对手学习,引进了Microsoft Visio 软件,量身定做了30条重吊船的VISIO配载图。随着技术标准化和团队水平提高,对外方技术依赖的局面得到了彻底扭转。
半潜船方面,2014年6月,半潜船“祥瑞口”轮首次成功DP定位安装超重大石油平台,创造了全球5万吨级半潜船侧向滚装货物最重、DP定位安装货物最重等多项新纪录。2017年,货运技术中心独立设计了“新光华”轮装载公司首件单件超过3万吨的圆筒型货物“希望6号”的技术方案,创造了公司半潜船队装运单件货物重量最重、圆筒型货物体积最大的双纪录。
重吊船方面,重大件的吊装、系固技术取得长足发展,比如2014年完成了566吨LPG罐体的运输加安装,成功开发并应用了超高强度钢材设计建造的24米700吨吊梁等。
全程物流技术突破方面,2011年至2016年,公司陆续完成了巴基斯坦两个30万千瓦级核电站建设所需设备、材料、重大件的全程物流运输任务,这也是公司第一个全程物流项目,涉及多项高要求重件的海运及1200公里的公路运输。
酒香客自来,花美气自芳。随着货运技术的提高,服务质量的提升,品牌效应为公司开拓海外货源给予了极大支持。公司营销中心总经理陈锋介绍:“2013年初,公司开始接触风电巨头VESTAS的货物,而这些货物的运输方案必须通过货主委托的一家技术咨询公司认可。于是,货运技术团队不断细化运输方案,部分内容从A版一直更新到L版,共12个版本,最终获得第一次10万方三船的风电运输合同。在体验到公司正规的运输方案,专业的现场监装,良好的服务质量后,VESTAS公司对中远海运特运的信任度大为提升,随之敞开了合作的大门。凭借优秀专业的表现,公司此后又赢得了西门子、GAMESA、金风科技等风电知名厂家的订单,这几年公司的风电运输货量每年都超过100万方。”
八年来,特运货运技术中心团队不停追赶世界一流,不断挑战技术极限、刷新纪录,在半潜船、重吊船等领域频频创造了经典案例,在个别技术上甚至已实现了超越,成为名副其实的领跑者。以重要项目为突破,攻坚克难,不断创造货运新纪录。对近年来的重大项目,蔡连财如数家珍:2014年8月,首创重吊船单航次承运7台RTG整机。2016年1月,“大安”轮在阿根廷布宜诺斯艾利斯港安全卸下650吨的拖轮,重吊船吊运首个单件超过600吨重件。在北极最大液化天然气YAMAL项目中,公司的半潜船不仅承担了该项目模块的首航,还承运了项目中最重的模块,成功挑战了采用SPMT横滚6500吨重的模块。在执行YAMAL项目期间,技术中心还协助公司顺利中标全球最大的油气开发项目TCO项目的模块海运服务。与此同时,中远特运公司以技术创新为抓手,成功开发研制出中国领先的重型吊梁,有效突破“运输+安装”等领域技术瓶颈,成功实现技术保障新突破。
要实现领跑,人才是关键。特运货运技术中心成立以来,货运技术中心团队的数量、质量都在不断提升,从创建之初的16人,到现在的37人,另有12名骨干人才在国内外关键岗位为公司船队提供货运技术支持。与此同时,港口船长的数量也在不断增加,并通过与DNV GL等资源较为优质的公司建立了港口船长外包渠道,不断补充和储蓄队伍力量。“只要不是船舶硬件的局限,竞争对手能做的、敢做的,我们都能做到,特别是在海上平台DP整体安装方面,我们的成功案例比竞争对手多,市场评价也比竞争对手好。“重吊船方面,我们的团队正处于向高级阶段爬升的上升期,在市场上我们极具竞争力。”蔡连财对自己的团队充满自信。
习近平总书记说:“中国要强盛、要复兴,就一定要大力发展科学技术”“核心技术靠化缘是要不来的,只有自力更生”。从花钱请人做技术方案到完全自主设计方案,从技术受制于人到成为业界领跑者,回顾中远海运特运公司的发展历程,就是一段艰苦奋斗、自力更生、奋发图强的成长史。公司在货运技术上的不懈努力,正在收获丰厚回报,并继续为企业战略发展,提供源源不断的强大支撑。
第二届“一带一路”国际合作高峰论坛上,习近平主席在讲话中强调,面向未来,我们要聚焦重点、深耕细作,共同绘制精谨细腻的“工笔画”,推动共建“一带一路”沿着高质量发展方向不断前进。中远海运特运高质量发展之路正是一幅用匠心精细绘制的“海上丝绸之路”工笔画。
Vessels of COSCO SHIPPING successfully sailed through the “Arctic Silk Road on Ice” to open a new route for Asia-Europe trade.
COSCO SHIPPING Specialized Carriers Company (COSCO SHIPPING Specialized for short) shipped gigantic towers for offshore wind turbines for the first time.
COSCO SHIPPING Specialized broke the world record for the heaviest cargo installed by a semisubmersible ship with DP (dynamic positioning) technology, and several other world records as well.
The heavy-lift ships of COSCO SHIPPING Specialized pioneered a new service model of“installation + transportation + installation.”
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In recent years, COSCO SHIPPING Specialized has given top priority to the company’s main feature, specialized carrier service, and adhered to a scientific and innovative approach for its development. Through increasingly deepening its exploration of the rules of the market, industry and corporate management, the company has gradually eliminated inefficient and outdated production capacity, and increased the proportion of high-added-value cargo in its shipments, to continuously enhance its carrying capacity, revitalize and optimize internal resources, and to further release the energy for highquality development. By sticking to this high-quality development strategy that prioritizes advanced technology, COSCO SHIPPING Specialized has successfully taken the three great leaps of “following, catching up and leading”on the international shipping market, and completed the transformation from a “general cargo fleet based on special cargo vessels” to a “multi-purpose fleet based on specialized carriers”, from “being a system integrator in the specialized transport market” to “being a leading international service provider of engineering logistics”.
Before 1998, shipping companies in developed western countries monopolized the transport market for special cargos with extreme height, size, length, weight or width. The large amount of heavy equipment imported by China from abroad was almost carried by foreign shipping companies. The Chinese companies not only had to spend a lot of money on the equipment, but also pay for very high shipping costs. In 1998, the COSCO SHIPPING Specialized began to enter the special cargo transport market. However, due to its weak foundation of freight technology, the operational efficiency turned out to be unsatisfactory. In 2002 and 2003, the company introduced into its fleet the new type of semi-submersible ships “Taiankou” and “Kangshengkou”. However, in the first few years, the profitability of these semi-submersible ships was very weak because they were highly dependent on foreign companies for technical support ranging from making transportation plans to arranging the port captain and engineering technicians. A transportation plan would cost several hundred thousand dollars, and the wage standard of port captains and engineering technicians was also very high.
The company realized that the management of freight technology for special cargo, which plays a critical role in the entire transportation service chain, had become a major bottleneck for the company to exploit the transport market for marine engineering equipment and heavy cargo. Moreover, the company also understood that the scale and quality of the freight technology team had become an increasingly important factor for high-end customers to choose the carrying vessels for their cargo. Therefore, the company decided that improving its freight technology management and expanding its freight technology team was vital for realizing the company’s strategic goals.
In order to break through the bottlenecks in the transportation of heavy cargo and achieve the strategic goals, the company has persisted with the strategy of employing the most advanced technology and blazed a unique path of innovation by striving to enhance its freight technology and seeking industrial leadership while constantly adjusting the structure of its fleet.
With the accelerating structural upgrade of its fleet, in June 2011, the company integrated its resources in the three modules of freight technology, port captain and transportation supervisor, and mobilized its key technical personnel and skilled technicians to establish the first freight technology center of an Asian shipping company. The center is responsible for devising loading and unloading plans, planning load distribution, supervising loading and discharging and so forth, with a strong emphasis on providing professional technical support for loading, discharging and transporting marine engineering products, complete sets of equipment and heavy cargo. The freight technology team is led by Cai Liancai, one of the “top ten youths of outstanding work performance in COSCO Group” and an excellent captain of semi-submersible ship with experience of more than ten years. The company also introduced a multitude of professionals specializing in naval architecture and/or marine engineering as an important effort to strengthen its capacity of engineering technology.
Cai Liancai, the general manager of the company’s freight technology center, said: “The freight technology center includes three modules: engineering technology, port captain and dangerous cargo supervisor. The engineering technology personnel formulate the transportation plan; the port captain is responsible for on-site command and execution; the dangerous cargo supervisor provides technical instructions for handling special cargo. The top priority of the freight technology center right after its operation was to build technological literacy and utilize the technology in coordination. On the one hand, technical manuals of freight technology were distributed to the staff ship by ship; on the other hand, transportation information is shared within the technology team and even among the operational departments and ship management departments, so that the freight technology can be used comprehensively and collaboratively. For example, the engineering technicians who formulate the loading and unloading plans shall consult the port captain about the feasibility of the plans; the port captain who has developed a loading and discharging plan needs to ask the technicians to calculate the data of wind flow, and to evaluate the ship’s hardware capability. We worked together to devise plans, share technical knowledge, and accumulate mutually complementary practical experience, thus improving the entire team’s capabilities quickly.”
After the establishment of the freight technology center, handling and lashing criteria for various types of cargo were formulated, and work specifications of the port captain were unified in order to promote the standardization, institutionalization and operationalization of freight technology. In July 2014, the center released The Collection of Freight Technology, which compiles commonly-used technical key points, accident cases, practical experience and skills into a booklet, laying the foundation for the staff to execute various types of transportation plans conveniently and efficiently. Aiming to overcome the company’s weaknesses in stowage planning and freight management, mainly, the backward stowage planning process and lack of proper stowage planning software, the freight technology center has learned from the competitors and introduced Microsoft VISIO software, enabling its technicians to tailormake VISIO stowage plans for all of the company’s 30 heavy-lift ships. With standardized technology and the rapidly growing competency of the technical team, the company’s previous reliance on foreign technical support has been eliminated completely.
In the field of semi-submersible ships, in June 2014, the semi-submersible ship Xiangruikou successfully installed an extra-heavy large oil platform with DP (dynamic positioning) technology for the first time, setting a number of new world records for the heaviest side-rolling cargo carried by a 50,000-ton semi-submersible ship, the heaviest cargo installed with DP technology, and setting a few new records in other categories. In 2017, the freight technology center independently devised the technical plan for semi-submersible ship“Xinguanghua” to carry “Hope 6”, the company’s first cylindrical cargo weighing more than 30,000 tons, creating double records for the heaviest single piece of cargo and for the largest volume of cylindrical cargo in the history of the company’s semi-submersible fleet.
In terms of heavy-lift ships, great progress has been made in the hoisting and securing technology of heavy cargo. For example, in 2014, the company completed the transportation and installation of the 566-ton LPG tanks, and successfully developed and employed the 24-meter, 700-ton lifting beam built with ultra-high-strength steel.
As regards the breakthroughs in full logistics technology, from 2011 to 2016, the company completed the full logistics and end-to-end transportation of the equipment, materials and heavy cargo needed for the construction of the two 300,000-kilowatt nuclear power plants in Pakistan. That was also the company’s first full logistics project, involving the ocean shipping of multiple items of high-demand heavy cargo and road transport of 1200 kilometers.
“Good wine needs no bush, and beautiful flower lacks no flavor.” With enhanced freight technology and better service, the brand effect of the company has offered tremendous support to the expansion of its overseas client base. Chen Feng, the general manager of the company’s marketing center, said:“At the beginning of 2013, the company began to get in contact with the wind power giant VESTAS, but the transportation plan of its cargo must be approved by a technology consulting company entrusted by the shipper. Therefore, the freight technology team continuously refined the transportation plan. From version A at the beginning to version L at the end, a total of 12 versions were developed and finally,they won the first shipping contract with VESTAS for three ship loads of wind power equipment with a total volume of 100,000 cubic meters. After experiencing our prudently devised transportation plan, professional on-site supervision and other high-quality services, VESTAS has growing trust for us and opened its doors for further cooperation. Similarly, with high-standard professional performance, COSCO SHIPPING Specialized won the contracts with well-known wind power enterprises such as Siemens, GAMESA and Xinjiang Goldwind Sci & Tech Co., Ltd. afterwards. In recent years, the company’s wind power cargo shipments have exceeded one million cubic meters each year.”
Cai Liancai, the general manager of the freight technology center, told the reporter: “In the past eight years, the team of the transportation technology center has kept catching up with the world’s first-class shipping companies, challenging technical limits, setting new records, and establishing classic cases in the fields of semisubmersible ships and heavy-lift ships. In terms of some certain technologies, the team has even surpassed its competitors and become a true leading runner who focuses on making technological breakthroughs in major projects, overcoming technical challenges, and keeping on setting new records in the shipping industry.” Then, he proudly listed several major projects that his team spearheaded in recent years: in August 2014, the company set the new record of one heavy-lift ship carrying seven complete RTG machines on a single voyage; in January 2016, heavy-lift ship Da An safely unloaded a 650-ton tugboat at the port of Buenos Aires in Argentina, creating the record of heavy-lift ship lifting and carrying a single piece of cargo weighing over 600 tons; in the Yamal project, the largest liquefied natural gas (LNG) project in the Arctic, the company’s semi-submersible ship not only took the maiden voyage of the project modules, but also carried the heaviest module of the project, successfully overcoming the challenge of using SPMT to laterally roll a module of 6,500 tons off the ship; during the YAMAL project, the team assisted the company in winning the module shipping service contract for the TCO project, the world’s largest oil and gas development project. In the meantime, the company focuses on technological innovation and has successfully designed and developed the heavy-duty lifting beam with leading technology in China, effectively breaking through the technical bottlenecks in fields such as “transportation plus installation”, and achieving new leaps in technical support for China’s shipping industry.
To be the leading runner in freight technology, high-quality technical personnel is the key. Since the establishment of the freight technology center, both the quantity and quality of its team members have been continuously on the rise. The number of them has grown from 16 to 37, with another 12 key technicians working in critical positions at home and abroad to provide freight technology support for the company’s fleets. The quantity of port captains is also increasing, and at the same time, the company has established the port captain outsourcing channels with companies that have premium resources such as DNV GL, continuously replenishing the team and accumulating human resources for it. “As long as we are not bound by hardware limitations of the carrying vessels, we are fully capable of doing whatever our competitors are capable of doing or feel confident enough to challenge. Especially when it comes to the complete installation of offshore platforms with DP (dynamic positioning) technology, we have far more successful cases than our competitors, and our client reviews are also much better. Cai expressed full confidence in his team, “In the field of heavylift ships, our team is currently climbing up toward the advanced stage, and we are very competitive in the market.”
General Secretary Xi Jinping said: “If China wants to achieve prosperity and rejuvenation, it needs to devote great energy to promoting science and technology.” He also noted that “Core technology cannot be obtained by ‘begging alms.’ We must rely on our own hard work.” Looking back on development course of COSCO SHIPPING Specialized, we can see its major transformations from hiring foreign technicians at great cost to make technical plans, to devising the plans completely on its own; from relying on others for technologies, to becoming a leading runner in the shipping industry. The company has achieved great successes and vigorous growth through keeping the initiative in its own hands, relying on its own efforts and working with great diligence and stamina. The company’s relentless efforts in developing its freight technology are paying off tremendously and will continuously offer powerful support for the strategic development of it.
At the second Belt and Road Forum for International Co-operation, President Xi Jinping emphasized in his speech: “Going ahead, we should focus on priorities and project execution, move forward with results-oriented implementation, just like an architect refining the blueprint, and jointly promote high-quality Belt and Road cooperation.” The author believes that the quality-oriented development path of COSCO SHIPPING Specialized is exactly a meticulous blueprint of the“Maritime Silk Road” drawn with great ingenuity and entrepreneurship.