Measuring 70m x 76m x 9.5m and with a drilling depth of 35,000 feet, "Oriental Discovery" can operate 400 feet below water and accommodate 140 people in its living area.

Safety measures have been tightened by local maritime authorities to ensure business operations in the city.

From January 20 to February 18, under the guidance of Baoshan Maritime Commission, 38 ships from Wuhan carrying 86,400 tons of raw materials managed to unload at Baosteel Wharf, one of the city's key piers for substantial materials. There was also a cargo of cold steel plates weighing 17,900 tons sent from Baosteel to Wuhan.

Apart from opening a green channel and adopting distance supervision to avoid accidents, automatedunloading methods including electronic receipts are being encouraged to minimize human contact.

“By safeguarding ships’ arrivals and departures, we are competing with time to support the epidemic fight in Wuhan and maintain the economy channel on water,” said Tang Wu, director of the commission.

The Yangshan Port Maritime Commission has also rolled out safety measures on the prevention and control of coronavirus to support enterprises’ production.

On Tuesday, “Oriental Discovery,” a giant drill platform built by SWS Offshore and worth about 1 billion yuan (US$147 million), was officially turned over in Lingang, heading toShenzhen for gas field exploration.

With real-time information of boats and personnel, on-site patrols of key areas and route cleanup, maritime workers have ensured safe navigation amidst severe weather.