An LNG powered rake suction dredger is under construction at sea in Qidong, Nantong, East China's Jiangsu province. [Photo/Nantong Daily]

Shanghai Zhenhua Heavy Industry Qidong Marine Engineering Co Ltd started construction on China's first LNG powered rake suction dredger with a capacity of 15,000 cubic meters on Dec 26, according to local media reports.

The LNG-powered rake suction dredger is environment-friendly, intelligent, efficient, and safe.

The vessel will be 155.7 meters in length, 32 meters in width, and 9.9 meters in dredging draft. The maximum capacity of its mud tank will be about 17,000 square meters.

The vessel is China's first large-scale fully independently designed rake suction dredger with an LNG clean energy power system, and is the largest such vessel in the world.

It can be used for dredging and reclamation work in the Yangtze River estuary and coastal ports and waterways, as well as for coastal maintenance projects.