China's domestically built rescue vessel Beihai Jiu 151 commissioned

China's domestically designed and built 4,000-kilowatt medium-sized marine rescue vessel, the Beihai Jiu 151, officially joined the fleet of the Ministry of Transport’s Beihai Rescue Bureau on Monday, China Central Television (CCTV) reported.

The vessel is the first medium-sized marine rescue vessel in China’s northern waters, purpose-built for local maritime conditions, with all its core equipment domestically produced, according to CCTV.

The vessel’s commissioning strengthens the modern maritime emergency rescue network, addresses gaps in rescue capabilities in China's northern waters and provides stronger support for lifesaving and emergency response at sea, CCTV reported.

The vessel designed by China State Shipbuilding Corporation Limited’s (CSSC) Shanghai Merchant Ship Design & Research Institute (SDARI) and built by CSSC Huangpu Wenchong Shipbuilding Company Limited, was launched on April 9.

Based on the Dong Hai Jiu 151 rescue vessel, the Beihai Jiu 151 was developed and designed to meet new requirements and meet emerging scenarios in maritime rescue operations, with enhanced capabilities for operating in icy waters. It is primarily intended for lifesaving and vessel rescue in shallow waters, including coastal waterways and areas around islands and reefs, while also being capable of carrying out rescue missions in rough sea conditions, eworldship.com reported.

In addition to conventional rescue capabilities such as oil-spill response and firefighting, the 69.5-meter-long, 14.6-meter-wide vessel can carry out three-point anchoring and is equipped with a new type of unmanned rescue boat. It can support diving training and conduct search-and-rescue operations along pre-set routes, among other missions, according to eworldship.com.