CIMC Logistics contributes to the successful maiden voyage of Asia’s largest heavy-duty and self-propelled CSD

On March 12, Tiankun, the largest heavy-duty and self-propelled cutter suction dredger (CSD) in Asia, started its maiden voyage from Lianyungang, Jiangsu Province after all customs declaration formalities were handled, representing that the independently developed and constructed CSD was formally put into operation. It is noteworthy that Zhenhua Logistics Group, a member company of CIMC’s Logistics Segment, handled all customs declaration formalities. 

Tiankun is the sister vessel and updated version of Tianjin, which is the Asia’s largest CSD in service. Measuring 140 meters long and 27.8 meters wide and featuring total installed capacity of 25,843 kW, Tiankun can dig as deep as 35 meters into the sea and dredge 6,000 cubic meters of mud every hour - roughly the size of 2.5 Olympic Swimming Pools. Rated as the “magical” island-building ship, Tiankun is the largest and most advanced CSD in Asia and the most intelligent CSD in the world. 

The trip is the maiden production voyage of Tianjin. According to the relevant regulations of the State, customs declaration formalities must be handled at non-customs supervised “anchorages” before the shipment of large cargos such as docks, drilling platforms and building materials for ultra-large projects. Due to the importance of Tiankun CSD, the customer carried out thorough investigation and finally entrusted Zhenhua Logistics to handle the formalities. 

“Over the years, we have familiarized ourselves with and strictly observed customs declaration laws and regulations of different countries, and we have rich experience and proven track record in the customs clearance of large and special cargos. In particular, for programmes within special supervision category, we work closely and frequently with domestic and foreign customs. Thanks to reputation for comprehensive strength in the industry, the customer gave us a top priority and finally chose to work with us”, said a responsible person of Zhenhua Logistics. 

At the time of customs clearance for Tiankun CSD, it is required to handle the customs declaration formalities for the ship and the cargo. That is to say, two formalities, namely the formality for customs clearance of the cargos and the formality for import and export of transportation tools, must be handled simultaneously. After winning the bid for customs declaration of the ship, Zhenhua Logistics paid great attention to the programme and made preparations for customs clearance two months ahead. To avoid the delay in the shipping date, the company and Lianyungang Customs learned about the customer’s demands and timetable, made special customs clearance supervision and quarantine schemes accordingly and completed the departure supervision on the side, which contributed to the successful maiden voyage of Tiankun.  

“With rich experience and strong resource allocation ability, we saved 5 days in handling the customs clearance formalities and preserved sufficient amount of time for the customs clearance of Tiankun after the ship arrived at the destination port. This has won great recognition from the customer”, said the responsible person.