Bohai Bay’s First Offshore New Energy Vehicle Transport Route Opens

Recently, the ferry “Lv’antong,” operated by Bohai Ferry Company under Liaoyu Group Holdings, departed from Dalian to Shandong.

Source: China National Radio (CNR)

Recently, the ferry “Lv’antong,” operated by Bohai Ferry Company under Liaoyu Group Holdings, departed from Dalian to Shandong. This marks the first new energy vehicle (NEV) transport vessel to sail in Bohai Bay, representing a major breakthrough by Liaoyu Group in solving the challenge of cross-sea NEV transport.

The Shenhai Expressway (G15) is the longest north-south corridor among China’s “Ten Vertical and Ten Horizontal” comprehensive transport network. Its maritime segment is the Bohai Bay passenger and roll-on/roll-off (ro-ro) route, known as the “Golden Waterway.” Annually, this route carries nearly 4 million passengers and around 1.2 million vehicles. However, technical and safety constraints have long hindered the cross-sea transport of NEVs, creating difficulties and bottlenecks for travelers.

To meet growing travel demand, Liaoyu Group proposed in March 2024 to upgrade its vessels “Bohai Jin Zhu” and “Bohai Yin Zhu.” After over a year of modifications, both ships received the “NEV Carriage (B)” class notation from China Classification Society for lithium battery electric vehicle transport and were renamed “Lv’antong” and “Lv’anda,” respectively.

After the retrofit, each vessel can carry 132 standard NEVs (4.9 meters long and 2 meters wide) and 100 general cargo trucks measuring 15 meters. To further enhance safety, each ship is equipped with advanced fire protection systems exceeding regulatory standards, including NEV battery safety evaluation devices, early fire-warning systems in vehicle compartments, and fixed high-pressure water mist firefighting systems.

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