Tht Shanghai Merchant Ship Design and Research Institute (SDARI), which celebrated its 40th anniversary last year, plays an important role within the Chinese shipbuilding industry. As far as the merchant ship sector is concerned, SDARI is one of the biggest design offices in China, employing 400 people in total, 280 of which are ship design specialists. The company offers a full design service, from project development up to detailed design, and also sometimes provides production design in conjunction with third parties. Bulk carrier design is one of SDARI's strengths, and in recent years it has produced a full range of new designs, the largest being a 175,000dwt Capesize type. SDARI also points out that it is now updating all its bulk carrier designs in accordance with the new IACS rules, and is furthermore working on the development of even larger sizes, including designs for 230,000dwt and 300,000dwt iron ore carriers for Chinese owners. The 230,000dwt type recently underwent model tests at the SSPA model basin in Sweden, with reportedly good results.
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