HAPO International Barges said it has reached an agreement to purchase Hua Dian Bo Qiang 02—formerly Hydrodeck—from Shanghai Bo Qiang Heavy Industries. The 140m x 40m x 12m barge is set to join the fleet as H-461, with handover scheduled toward the end of April near Shanghai.
The buyer noted the vessel has been upgraded in recent years with a double bottom and mooring/anchor winches, improving suitability for the cargo barge market.
Built in 2014 by Damen shipyards for ALE as Hydrodeck, the barge was engineered for extreme tidal Ro-Ro operations. In 2021, after being renamed Hua Dian Bo Qiang 02, the unit underwent a major structural and operational upgrade. The work included installing a double bottom under the air tanks and integrating two winch decks, with a total of six 50-ton winches fitted.
Following the conversion, the barge is now described as far more suitable for long haul towage, beaching operations and offshore heavy-lift or construction activities, including crane-supported work scopes.
In its current configuration, the pontoon is equipped with six 50t positioning winches, with 2 arranged on the forward winch tweendeck and 4 arranged on the rear winch tweendeck. Each winch is equipped with a guiding pulley device, cable guide and 8t Delta anchor, and the anchor cable end is fitted with a short anchor chain.
