The bulk carrier Sohar Max docks at berth No 6 of COSCO Shipping Heavy Industry (Zhoushan) Co in Zhoushan, Zhejiang province. [Photo/Tide News]

The 400,000-deadweight-ton bulk carrier Sohar Max, docked at berth No 6 of COSCO Shipping Heavy Industry (Zhoushan) Co on Sept 23, becoming the largest-tonnage ship ever serviced by the company.

The vessel will be equipped with five 37.8-meter-high foldable marine rotor sails, making it the largest-tonnage vessel in the world to be fitted with rotor sails and marking a significant breakthrough for Zhoushan in green ship repair and retrofitting.

The rotor sail is installed on the ship's deck and utilizes wind energy at sea to generate additional thrust, significantly enhancing energy efficiency. The feedback from shipowners showed that the rotor sail can reduce fuel consumption by 5 percent to 10 percent, according to Zhoushan COSCO Shipping Heavy Industry.

Both Zhoushan COSCO Shipping Heavy Industry and Zhoushan IMC-Yongyue Shipyard and Engineering Co have been recognized as the "Green Ship Repair Demonstration Enterprise in China's Ship Repair Industry", with the latter becoming the first national-level green factory among Chinese ship repair companies.

From January to July, Zhoushan's large-scale shipbuilding industry achieved an output value of 24.43 billion yuan ($3.48 billion), a year-on-year increase of 27.0 percent, accounting for more than 70 percent of Zhejiang's total. The ship repair sector serviced 2,663 ships, generating an output value of 12.44 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 21.5 percent and accounting for more than 35 percent of the national total and about 20 percent of the global total.