An ocean bulk cargo ship with capacity of 55,000 tons is launched in Taizhou in eastern China's Zhejiang province on Sunday, August 3, 2008. The ship with the largest maximum tonnage was made by private shipbuilding enterprise. It is the world's biggest ship that uses the air chamber technique. [Chinanews.com]

A ship with capacity of 55,000 tons was successfully launched using an air chamber in Taizhou, in eastern China's Zhejiang Province on Sunday.

Website of China News Service reports that this ship load breaks the world record for this launching technique.

The ship, Victoria 1, is 190 meters long, 32 meters wide and 18 meters tall. It was designed with a draft of 11.8 meters and built in January 2007 by a private shipbuilding enterprise.

"The technique of launching ships using an air chamber is the innovative technique of China's independent intellectual property rights, and I believe this technique will be widely used in the future," said an official with Taizhou Maritime Safety Administration.

This technology conquers the problem that small and medium dockyards faced when they were bound to the technique of slide boards and ways. The minor investment level, availability and safety of this process have met with favorable responses from shipbuilding enterprises.

On July 26, 2007, the GuoyuHaibo 1, which has a capacity of 45,000 tons, was launched by air chamber in Yangzhou city in eastern China's Jiangsu Province. It has a launch weight of 11,000 tons, which broke the world record at that time. Just one year later, the world record was broken again in Taizhou.

(CRI August 5, 2008)