Chinese Ship Companies Building LNG Carriers at Full Steam

He Baoxin, Zhang Wenhao, Wu Xiuxia

On October 10, the 174,000 m3 large LNG carrier ＂Wen Cheng＂independently invested by CSSC (Hong Kong) Shipping, designed and built by CSSC Hudong-Zhonghua Shipbuilding was christened in Shanghai, and will be signed and delivered three and a half months ahead of the contract term on October 11.This is the third large LNG carrier jointly christened and delivered by both sides after ＂Mulan＂and ＂Guiying＂.It is also the latest achievement of the comprehensive implementation of the ＂one body and two wings＂ strategy -- ＂ship leasing＂and ＂investment and operation＂.

The “Wen Cheng” adopts the fourth-generation large LNG carrier design and construction technology independently developed and designed by Hudong-Zhonghua, and is equipped with the latest low-pressure dualfual main engine (X-DF), marked by low energy consumption and good environmental performance.The ship has an overall length of 295 m,a molded breadth of 45 m, a molded depth of 26.25 m and a speed of 19.5 knots.It is classed with LR and CCS.

The “Wen Cheng” is the fourth LNG carrier having been completed and delivered this year.The company plans to deliver two more by the end of the year, which is expected to set a new record for six ships for a year.At present,Hudong-Zhonghua has 12 LNG carriers simultaneously under construction and the implementation of the LNG capacity doubling strategy is further accelerated.

On October 15, the first ship of the 174,000 m3 large LNG carrier project built by Hudong-Zhonghua Shipbuilding for Mitsui O.S.K.Lines and COSCO Shipping Energy Transportation, and No.5 ship of the 174,000 m3 large LNG carrier project built for the COSCO Shipping and PetroChina state affair project were smoothly undocked at Dock 2 in Hudong-Zhonghua Changxing Shipyard.This is the first time in history Hudong-Zhonghua has realized the milestone that two large LNG carriers were launched on the same day in the same dockyard, is also for the first time in a dock three large LNG carriers were simultanelusly under construction.LNG carriers simultaneously under construction and two ships simultaneous undocking is expected to become an ordinarly state,simbolizing that the company's LNG capacity multiplication strategy is fully sped up.

The first ship of the Mitsui O.S.K.Lines and COSCO Shipping Energy project adopts the fifth-generation ＂Changheng series＂ 174,000 m3 LNG carrier hull form independently developed and designed by Hudong-Zhonghua, which integrates the latest design concepts of the industry and integrates excellent hydrodynamic characteristics and excellent universatility.With an overall length of 299 m, a molded breadth of 46.4 m and a molded depth of 26.25 m, it adopts the latest generation of twin-skeg line, equipped with a number of low carbon and digital technologies,with good fast performance, less navigation emissions, high advanced degree, strong global universatility, light empty ship weight, strong cargo capacity and other highlights.

No.5 ship of the COSCO Shipping and PetroChina state affair project is a sister ship of the previously completed and delivered＂Shaolin＂, ＂Wudang＂ and ＂Kunlun＂ series ships, with an overall length of 295 m, a molded breadth of 45 m, a molded depth of 26.25 m, a speed of 19.5 knots, technical performance, environmental requirements and reliability requirements have reached the international first-class level, daily fuel consumption within one hundred tons,meeting the IMO’s most stringent emission standards.We learn that No.4 ship of the series is scheduled to be christened and delivered within this year.

The shipbuilding speed of Hudong-Z h o n g h u a L N G c a r r i e r h a s b e e n significantly accelerated since October.One ship delivery has been completed, two ships have been undocked, two ships have laid down, and two more ships will be docked on October 18.At present, the company has 12 LNG carriers simultaneoulsy under construction, delivered four carriers this year, and plans to deliver two more by the end of the year, expected to set a new record for delivering six ships in the whole year.

On October 23, China Merchants Industry Group Co., Ltd.held the commencement ceremony of an 180,000 m3 large LNG carrier at the Haimen base of China Merchants Industry.It is the first ship of 4+2+2 180,000 m3 large LNG carriers signed by China Merchants Industry and European ship owners.On the same day, the construction contract of No.5 and No.6 ships among the 8-ship series project came into effect,and the four-ship selection agreement of No.9-No.12 ships was signed on the site.

We learn that the 180,000 m3 large LNG carrier has an overall length of about 298.8 m, a molded breadth of 48 m, a molded depth of 26.5 m,a design draft of 11.5 m, a service speed of 19.5 knots, a range of 22,000 nautical miles, classed with ABS.This series of ships are the first batch of large LNG carriers contracted by China Merchants Industry.They are jointly developed by Deltamarin Ship Design Company and Haimen Base under China Merchants Industry.It has independent intellectual property rights and is a typical example of China Merchants Industry transformation and upgrading to promote high-quality development.

The cargo tank adopts GTT Mark III FLEX membrane type technology.The total tank capacity of the four tanks of the whole ship is 180,000 m3,the maximum loading rate can reach 99.4%, the evaporation rate of the cargo is less than 0.085%/day, operating in unlimited waters, with an extremely strong compatibility, compatible with the world's mainstream large LNG terminals.Equipped with two 5-cylinder engines, two 8-cylinder generators, two 6-cylinder generators and one 2.0t/h reliquefaction device.Able to maximize the utilization rate of reliquefaction equipment in extreme summer climate conditions,meet the demand of keeping tank pressure with zero cargo damage,taking the main ship type scale and key equipment capabilities to the extreme,providing a more competitive hull form for the ship owners to explore new market.

On December 30, 2022, China Merchants Industry and the European shipowners signed 4+2+2 180,000 m3 LNG carrier building contracts through＂cloud signing＂, becoming the fifth shipyard in China to receive orders for large LNG ships.In October 2022,China Merchants Industry Haimen Base signed a GTT Mark III FLEX membrane type patent cooperation agreement with French GTT, obtaining the qualification of using GTT Mark III FLEX membrane containment system to build large LNG carriers,thus becoming another shipyard in China with the qualification of building large LNG carriers.

At present, China Merchants Group is anchoring the first-class goal,creating ＂two curves＂ and promoting＂tertiary entrepreneurship＂.China Merchants Industry building large LNG carriers is not only the upgrade of the traditional shipbuilding business, but also the layout of the development of new energy business.China Merchants Group will give greater support to the investment promotion industry from the aspects of R&D investment, industrial cultivation and assessment mechanism,and accelerate building China's cuttingedge technology-led marine equipment manufacturer.