Domestic cruise ship embarks on 2nd sea trial

China's first domestically built large cruise ship set sail on its second sea trial on Thursday, departing from a port in Shanghai on a voyage with 1,300 souls on board to run the final tests before international certification.

Built by Shanghai Waigaoqiao Shipbuilding, a subsidiary of China State Shipbuilding Corp, Adora Magic City, at 323.6 meters long and 37.2 meters wide, will accommodate a maximum of 5,246 guests and serve the burgeoning domestic cruise market when it is put into full operation.

Forty-five days after its successful first trial voyage, the current test will see the ship's operator Adora Cruises, inspectors, contractors, service providers, engineers and technicians put the ship through its paces before it gets certified.

It's an international convention that cruise ships have two sea trials before receiving certificates from major international classification societies, said Lin Guolong, director of Shanghai Maritime University's Logistics Research Center.

According to Lin, the first trial focuses on technical indicators, while the second tests the vessel's safety, comfort and capabilities in emergency response.

During the period between the two trial voyages, the Waigaoqiao Shipbuilding cruise project team has been working against the clock on interior decoration and system testing, according to Chen Gang, general manager of Waigaoqiao Shipbuilding and chief designer of the large cruise ship project.

This trial voyage will test regional vibration and noise levels, exhaust gas scrubbing, desulfurization, general broadcast alarm sound pressure, speed and durability.

Construction of the vessel, with a gross tonnage of 135,500 metric tons, is 95 percent complete, with the interior decoration, catering and other areas approaching completion, and public areas such as passenger ladders, cinema and theater, and water parks either complete or basically complete, Chen said.

The first sea trial verified systems function and overall performance, including vibration and noise indicators.

All the tests met the design requirements and received approvals from the ship owner, according to the Shanghai-based shipyard.

The vessel is expected to be delivered by the end of this year.