The world's largest pile driving ship built in China has made Europe and the United States extremely envious.

At the beginning of 2025, the pile driving vessel "Erhang Changqing" was delivered and put into use in Qidong, Jiangsu. It is the world's largest pile driving vessel.

This indicates that China has completely outperformed Europe and the United States in pile driving vessel technology.

01

Magic Tool for Infrastructure

If you pass by a newly started construction site, you may hear the sound of "dong dong dong".

Looking up, you can see giant machines standing on the construction site, rhythmically hammering the ground.

Pile driver on the construction site

This machine is the pile driver.

The function of the pile driver is to drive pile materials into the ground to improve the stability of the foundation and better support the building.

Piling is necessary when building high - rise buildings on land, and it is even more needed when constructing facilities and buildings on water. Otherwise, a single wave could wash things away.

For piling on water, a pile driving vessel is used.

The working principle of a pile driving vessel is similar to that of a pile driver. Simply put, it is like "nailing a nail" in the water, except that the tools used are larger and more complex.

After determining the piling position, the pile driving vessel will first extend several long pile legs. These "long crab legs" similar to those of a king crab will be inserted into the sediment at the bottom of the water to firmly fix the vessel.

After stabilization, the crane on the deck will lift the pile and stand it vertically in the water. Then, a huge "hammer" - the pile hammer will rise from the top of the vessel.

During operation, the pile hammer is lifted and then suddenly dropped, hitting the pile head heavily and repeatedly. With each strike, the pile will sink a little and will be gradually driven into the sediment at the bottom of the water until it reaches a sufficient depth.

Working principle of the pile driving vessel

The operation process of the pile driving vessel is like a giant holding a huge hammer and hammering a larger and thicker "magic needle that stabilizes the sea" into the sea.

Human development of water areas started relatively late, and pile driving vessels also appeared very late.

In the early 20th century, the earliest pile driving vessels mainly relied on steam power to pull the pile hammer, and some pile hammers were even made of wood. By the middle of the 20th century, modern pile driving vessels began to take shape, gradually adopting a steel box - type structure and introducing diesel engines as the power source.

In the late 20th century, with the acceleration of global trade integration and the rise of offshore oil and gas development, pile driving vessels began to develop in the direction of large - scale and specialization. They can not only drive vertical piles but also inclined piles at various angles.

Entering the 21st century, pile driving vessels have become more intelligent and information - based. They are not only equipped with high - precision positioning systems and real - time monitoring equipment but also can achieve precise piling and automatic control of the construction process.

After adjusting the pile frame, the pile driving vessel can drive inclined piles at different angles

After more than a hundred years of development, pile driving vessels have not only become more powerful but also more versatile.

The construction of cross - sea bridges cannot do without pile driving vessels.

As one of the world's longest cross - sea bridges, during the construction of the Hong Kong - Zhuhai - Macao Bridge, pile driving vessels were used to drive the pile foundations of the piers to ensure that the pile foundations could penetrate deep into the seabed geological layer, improving the stability and bearing capacity of the bridge.

The Hong Kong - Zhuhai - Macao Bridge under piling

Pile driving vessels also play a role in the construction of ports and wharves.

In Shanghai Port and Guangzhou Port, to support the wharf structure and withstand the pressure and impact brought by ship berthing and cargo handling and ensure the normal operation and safety of the port, the support structure needs to penetrate deep into the geological layer.

This requires the efforts of pile driving vessels to drive deep and large pile foundations to make the wharf take root.

The construction of offshore wind farms also requires pile driving vessels.

The pile foundations of wind turbines must penetrate deep enough into the seabed to ensure the stability and safety of the wind turbines. Due to different marine geological environments, the piling depth is usually between 20 and 60 meters.

For example, in the 300MW capacity expansion project of the Xuwen Offshore Wind Farm in Zhanjiang, Guangdong by SPIC, the penetration depth is about 46 to 49 meters, which is equivalent to the height of a 15 - story ordinary residential building. Piling to such a depth cannot be achieved without pile driving vessels.

In the construction of offshore oil and gas platforms, the piling depth may be even more astonishing depending on different operating conditions.

In a seabed environment dominated by soft clay, to obtain sufficient bearing capacity, the pile foundations need to be driven 80 to 150 meters below the seabed. Even in a sandy seabed with a little higher hardness, it is at least 60 to 100 meters. Without high - performance pile driving vessels, the construction of offshore oil and gas platforms is simply impossible.

Piling is just the basic function of a pile driving vessel. The upgraded pile driving vessels have even greater capabilities.

During the pre - construction stage of the Hong Kong - Zhuhai - Macao Bridge, the pile driving vessel was used for piling. After the piling operation was completed, the pile driving vessel removed the pile hammer and transformed on - site into a crane to continue participating in the bridge construction.

The pile driving vessel transforms into a "water crane" to complete the hoisting operation

The construction of bridges, ports, offshore wind farms, offshore oil and gas platforms, undersea tunnels, soft soil foundation reinforcement, dikes and flood control projects, dredging and cofferdam construction... all rely on pile driving vessels.

Pile driving vessels have become essential magic tools for water infrastructure!

02

Breakthrough and Innovation

Initially, China's pile driving vessels could only rely on imports.

In addition to facing technical bottlenecks, there was also the pressure of high costs.

With the rapid development of China's economy and the continuous advancement of infrastructure, especially the booming development of infrastructure such as ports, bridges, and expressways in coastal areas, the demand for pile driving vessels has been increasing.

We can't let this profitable business go to foreign hands.

Driven by market demand, the pile driving vessel industry in China has achieved rapid expansion in scale. Domestic enterprises have increased their efforts in independent research and development and innovation, gradually breaking the foreign technical monopoly and forming a group of leading enterprises with influence.

This "Erhang Changqing" was built by Shanghai Zhenhua Heavy Industries for CCCC Second Harbor Engineering Co., Ltd., which comprehensively reflects the four greatest strengths of China's pile driving vessels:

The tallest pile frame, the largest pile - lifting capacity, the longest pile driving length, and the strongest anti - wave ability.

Scene of the vessel delivery ceremony

First is the super - large pile frame.

With an overall length of 130.5 meters, a width of 40.8 meters, and a depth of 8.4 meters, it supports a 150 - meter pile frame, which is the tallest in the world.

A larger vessel has stronger anti - wave ability; the taller the pile frame, the deeper it can drive piles.

Second is the super - large pile - lifting capacity.

The "Erhang Changqing" can drive pile foundations with a maximum weight of 700 tons and a diameter of 7 meters.

Offshore wind turbines are relatively tall and bear strong wind forces. To maintain stability, the pile foundations need to be deep and large. The "Erhang Changqing" can drive the currently deepest and largest piles, which is sufficient to meet the high requirements of offshore wind power for pile foundations.

To drive such a large and long pile driver, the "Erhang Changqing" for the first time applied a diesel - electric hybrid power system to provide efficient power output. The oil cylinder alone weighs 385 tons, has a diameter of nearly 2 meters, a total length of 28 meters, and a thrust of 5000 tons.

As the "heart" of the pile driving vessel, the research, development, and production of the oil cylinder are of top priority. Previously, it was always restricted by foreign technology.

The oil cylinder of the "Erhang Changqing" has also achieved self - control.

CCCC Second Harbor Engineering Co., Ltd. jointly designed and manufactured it with 6 leading enterprises in the industrial chain and 4 universities such as Tsinghua University and Tongji University. They carried out technical research in aspects such as theoretical research, simulation analysis, and experiments, and finally completed the self - research and self - production of a series of key core technologies such as domestic sealing rings, domestic bearing lubrication pads, and laser - cladded corrosion - resistant materials, realizing the localization of super - large and super - long oil cylinders.

Unveiling ceremony

Finally, the world's largest pile driving vessel oil cylinder was unveiled at Changzhou Hengli Hydraulics.

The weight, diameter, length, and thrust of this oil cylinder are all world - first!

Being large does not mean being clumsy.

The "Erhang Changqing" is equipped with an intelligent operation assistance system that integrates real - time perception of hydrological parameters, operation assistance decision - making, automatic discrimination of operation procedures, and online collection of pile - sinking data to automatically monitor the entire piling process.

In the vast sea, unlike on land where there are landmarks, with the help of Beidou satellites, the positioning system of the "Erhang Changqing" has achieved centimeter - level positioning accuracy in the far - reaching sea.

It can drive piles precisely where it is directed.

How does China's pile driving vessel technology compare with that of Europe and the United States now?

The newly launched flagship pile driving vessel "KAKURYU" of Japan's TOA Corporation is one of Japan's most advanced pile driving vessels. It has a length of 76 meters, a width of about 30 meters, a pile frame height of 80 meters, and can drive 74 - meter - long piles into the sea.

Japanese pile driving vessel "KAKURYU"

The "DEMiRBAS 06" in Turkey is one of the more advanced pile driving vessels in Europe. It has been in service for more than 20 years and is mainly engaged in offshore operations. It has a length of 60 meters, a width of 20 meters, a pile frame height of 54 meters, a maximum pile - lifting capacity of 115 tons, and can drive piles with a diameter of 1.65 meters.

Turkish pile driving vessel "DEMiRBAS 06"

Compared with the "Erhang Changqing", the oil cylinders of these two most advanced pile driving vessels are smaller in size and thrust. They generally use GPS for positioning with an accuracy of only decimeter - level; they also have a lower degree of intelligence and rely more on manual operation; most of them use traditional fuel power, which is very environmentally unfriendly during water operations; due to their small size, they usually can only operate in offshore areas and have relatively weak anti - wave ability.

China's pile driving vessels are at the forefront of the world.

03

Great Power's Heavy Equipment

Besides breaking the international monopoly, what other significant meanings do pile driving vessels have?

On the surface, it's about the economic account.

Most directly, the profitable business that used to go to foreign hands now comes to our own hands.

According to a research report in March 2024, the estimated infrastructure investment funds in China that year would reach 15.44 trillion yuan. Among them, 47,000 water conservancy projects were implemented, and the investment completed was 1.35 trillion yuan. Even if only half of these projects use pile driving vessels, it's not a small amount.

Isn't it great that this money is earned by our own enterprises?

Looking at the international market.

According to a research report on the