Central SOEs Take a Role in Building Ultra-Large LNG Ships

A memorandum of construction of three 174,000-cubic meter liquefied natural gas (LNG) ships was signed by China State Shipbuilding Corporation Limited (CSSC) and China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) on June 18.

Designed based on the fourth generation CHANGXING 174,000-cu m large LNG ship independently developed by CSSC's Hudong-Zhonghua Shipbuilding (Group) Co., Ltd. (Hudong-Zhonghua), the new ships will be 295 meters long, 45 meters wide and 26.25 meters deep and have a top speed of 19.5 knots.

They will be equipped with the latest dual fuel low-speed propulsion system, which improves operational performance and lowers power consumption.

They will also feature an advanced environmentally-friendly facility that enables them to meet the highest emission standards of the International Maritime Organization.

CSSC and CNPC made the decision to work together on building the ships on June 30, 2020 and the signing of the memorandum on June 18 this year marked the beginning of construction.

In addition to boosting China's ship industry, the environmentally-friendly ships are expected to support the country's initiatives of "Blue Sky" and "Beautiful China"; and sustainable development of the national energy strategy. They will also contribute to realizing its goal of peaking carbon dioxide emission by 2030 and achieving carbon neutrality by 2060.

As the only large LNG ship building base, Hudong-Zhonghua will play a key role in the ship construction. The company has so far delivered 24 such ships.

(Executive editor: Niu Yilin)