en.Wedoany.com Reported - At 17:00 on August 8, the "Haixun 1003" vessel dispatched by the Guangxi Maritime Safety Administration arrived at Pingtang River Estuary, completing the first full-route inspection of the entire 134.2-kilometer Pinglu Canal. The vessel departed from Qinzhou Port on August 7 and traveled northward along the canal, passing through the three shipping hubs of Qingnian, Qishi, and Madao in sequence. This voyage served as a real-ship navigation verification conducted after the completion of the main works of the Pinglu Canal, and the project remains in the preparatory phase ahead of its scheduled official opening in September.
The inspection was jointly carried out by the Guangxi Maritime Safety Administration, the Pinglu Canal Group, the Beibu Gulf Pilot Station, the South China Sea Navigation Guarantee Center, and tugboat companies. During the voyage, inspectors checked construction vessels and conducted on-site surveys of key water areas, including channel dimensions, curved sections, bridge navigation clearances, ship lock approach channels, and tributary river mouths.
The inspection also included a practical test of the "Pinglu Canal Navigation Safety Management Regulations," which are scheduled to take effect alongside the canal's opening, covering vessel navigation rules and navigation safety safeguard measures. The "Haixun 1003" is 46.1 meters in length, 6.8 meters in beam, with a maximum speed of 25.3 knots and an endurance of 500 nautical miles. It is equipped with an optoelectronic system capable of color, black-and-white, infrared, and laser evidence collection and data transmission.
Construction of the Pinglu Canal began in August 2022. The entire route is built to the standard of a Class I inland waterway, navigable by 5,000-ton-class vessels. The project comprises the waterway, shipping hubs, water conservancy facility renovations, cross-waterway structures, and supporting works, with a preliminary design budget of 72.719 billion yuan. The three shipping hubs—Madao, Qishi, and Qingnian—are each equipped with twin single-stage 5,000-ton-class ship locks, designed with an annual one-way capacity of 89 million tons.
On May 16 this year, the installation of metal structures at the three major shipping hubs was completed, with all 24 miter gates, maintenance gates, track beams, and working valves fully installed. On May 28, the excavation of the main waterway works was completed. Subsequently, the project transitioned to the phases of water-filled commissioning of the ship locks, underwater shoal dredging of the waterway, navigation mark deployment, and testing of the navigation management system. According to the schedule released by the Ministry of Transport, the Pinglu Canal is planned to be fully opened to navigation in September 2026.
