A file photo shows Tiankun, Asia’s largest dredging vessel, being prepared for sea trials in Qidong, a county-level city in Nantong, East China’s Jiangsu province, on June 8, 2018. [Photo/VCG]

Tiankun, the largest heavy-duty self-propelled dredger in Asia, made its maiden voyage from Lianyungang, East China’s Jiangsu province, on March 12. 

The 140-meter-long vessel was developed by CCCC Tianjin Dredging Co and built by Qidong maritime engineering company of Shanghai Zhenhua Heavy Industries Co.

It can dig as deep as 35 meters under the sea floor and can process up to 6,000 cubic meters per hour. 

The vessel took two and a half years to construct, with work beginning on Dec 11, 2015. And a three-month dredging and rock excavation test was conducted last year, during which, the production, excavation and transportation capacity of the ship was tested.