The No. 998 Bingang vessel passed through the five-tier north-line ship lock of the Three Gorges Dam on April 5, marking the reopening of the north-line lock 14 hours ahead of schedule as well as the completion of its 45-day outage maintenance as planned in 2024.

　　The maintenance was launched on February 21, characterizing the longest duration, heaviest workloads and tightest scheduling since the initiation of scheduled suspension for maintenance in 2012. Part of the equipment and techniques were upgraded to improve the efficiency and ensure the safety of the maintenance. (Reporter/Wang Ying, Correspondents/Wu Qionglu & Xu Xiangying)