The ship is a 5,000-tonne freighter designed to canal specifications and classed as a smart vessel, with automated navigation and remote monitoring. It follows the first demonstration ship into the water.

The Pinglu Canal is an inland waterway running from the Nanning area of Guangxi to the Beibu Gulf. Once open, the project is intended to let cargo from the inland southwest reach port without transferring between river and sea vessels.

Standardising a canal-specific hull form bears directly on throughput. Beam, draught and berthing arrangements must be uniform to lock dimensions if transit times are to fall. Smart navigation functions are used to hold spacing between vessels in narrow channels.

Trials will test handling, fuel consumption and communications reliability. No date has been announced for entry into service.

Inland waterways connecting to Southeast Asian routes bear on logistics conditions for Chinese commercial networks. The effect on actual freight rates, however, can only be judged once operating data accumulates after opening.