The pile-driving vessel “Tiejian Daqiao Zhuang 1” recently departed Lusi Port in China’s Jiangsu Province, bound for Brazil, where it will take part in the construction of the Salvador–Itaparica Bridge in Bahia. The voyage to Recife is expected to take about 45 days, after which the vessel will continue to the Bay of All Saints.

Built with investment from China Railway Construction Bridge Engineering Bureau Group, the vessel is currently the world’s largest pile-driving ship. It will install the piles that will support the bridge piers. It can operate in water depths of up to 70 metres, has a 156-metre pile-driving frame and can lift loads weighing up to 700 tonnes. To position the piles with centimetre-level accuracy, it combines dynamic positioning and anchoring systems with China’s BeiDou satellite navigation system.

The bridge will extend for 12.4 kilometres across the Bay of All Saints and include a cable-stayed section with a main span of about 682 metres. Its planned vertical clearance of 85 metres will allow large vessels to pass. The project, being carried out jointly by China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC) and China Communications Construction Company (CCCC), has an estimated investment of 11.6 billion reais. Once completed, it is expected to cut the journey between Salvador and Vera Cruz by about 45 minutes.

(Source: China 2 Brasil, 28 September)