The luxury high-speed cruise ship Bei You 26 is ready to be operated from Beihai to Weizhou Island in Guangxi. [Photo/WeChat account gxzxpd]

Bei You 26, the first domestic 70-meter-class high-speed aluminum alloy catamaran with a carrying capacity of 1,200 passengers, was officially delivered to Beihai Xinyi Cruise Co on July 13 and will soon be put into operation from Beihai to Weizhou Island.

Bei You 26 is a large luxury high-speed passenger ship designed for the characteristics of the coastal waters of the Beibu Gulf. With a total investment of 160 million yuan ($22.8 million), it has a length of 71.26 meters, a width of 17 meters, and a service speed of 29 knots.

With its construction quality being fully benchmarked to world-class standards, the ship has set three records in terms of the largest size, the largest passenger capacity, and the highest single ship cost of a single aluminum alloy high-speed passenger ship built in China.

Utilizing the world-leading technology of Austal, the world's largest high-speed ship builder, Bei You 26 can sail normally under the sea conditions of Grade 8 winds and three-meter high waves. It will provide comfortable, as well as convenient tourism and shipping services for the Beihai-Weizhou Island sea route.

Equipped with seats for disabled passengers, toilets, and mother and baby rooms, as well as pet rooms, the ship also boasts night vision devices for night sailing, with an endurance of more than 400 nautical miles.

With the increasing demand for coastal tourism in the Beibu Gulf, the construction of the Bei You 26 can not only greatly enhance the capacity of tourist passenger transport from Beihai to Weizhou Island, but also provide tourists with more diversified and high-quality passenger transport services. In addition, it will ease traffic congestion and upgrade coastal tourism, injecting new momentum into the development of the Beihai tourism industry.