China's Hudong-Zhonghua shipyard hits record LNG carrier deliveries

China State Shipbuilding Corp (CSSC) subsidiary Hudong-Zhonghua Shipbuilding Group delivered and named what Chinese state media said was the first 174,000-m³ liquefied natural gas carrier built for the state-backed LNG Transportation Phase III Project, jointly developed by COSCO Shipping and PetroChina.

Delivery of Qingcheng on 24 November reportedly marks the seventh large LNG carrier delivered by Hudong-Zhonghua Shipbuilding for the project. With this delivery, Hudong-Zhonghua has now delivered nine LNG carriers this year, setting a new annual record for LNG carrier deliveries in China.

According to Chinese media, the LNG transport shipbuilding project has three phases including eight 17,000-m³ LNG carriers. To date, Hudong-Zhonghua Shipbuilding has completed the first and second phases, with six LNG carriers named Shaolin, Wudang, Kunlun, Emei, Huashan and Kongtong all delivered.

The vessels are claimed to have transported more than 5M tonnes of LNG globally.

Hudong-Zhonghua Shipbuilding and COSCO Shipping Energy Transportation have a long-standing partnership, having jointly built 43 LNG carriers, with another 21 vessels currently under construction.

Hudong-Zhonghua said that it independently developed Qingcheng. The vessel is 295 m long, 45 m wide, and 26 m deep, with a service speed of around 20 knots. It is classed by Lloyd’s Register and China Classification Society.

This type of vessel has a reliquefaction capacity of 1.5 tonnes per hour, adaptable to varying operational requirements for balanced utilisation of evaporated gas and uses the latest generation of dual-fuel low-speed propulsion power system, according to the shipyard.

Both the main engine and generator are equipped with selective catalytic reduction environmental control systems, enabling compliance with the current global emissions standards in both fuel and gas modes.