New LNG carrier designs emerge at Gastech 2025

LR also granted AiP for two membrane-type LNG carrier designs incorporating four Wind Challenger hard sail propulsion units, in collaboration with Mitsui OSK Lines (MOL), Samsung Heavy Industries and HD Hyundai Heavy Industries. MOL said: “Last year, MOL obtained AiP to install two Wind Challenger units on a conventional LNG carrier. In the new vessel design, the bridge has been positioned toward the bow to enable both an increase in the number of Wind Challenger units and the optimisation of their placement, thereby maximising fuel efficiency gains.” 

Korean Register awarded an AiP to HD Hyundai Mipo and HD Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering for an IMO Type-C tank design, applying engineering critical assessment methods from the earliest design stage. The methodology predicts crack propagation in metallic structures to enable structural safety analysis over the operational lifetime of the tank in cryogenic and high-pressure conditions for LNG, ammonia and hydrogen. HD Hyundai Mipo executive vice president Dongjin Lee said: “Through this collaboration, we have further enhanced the design competitiveness of gas carriers and bunkering vessels. By establishing an objective framework to verify the long-term reliability of tank structures, we are able to actively address the diverse needs of the market.” 

The American Bureau of Shipping and the Liberian flag state awarded an initial AiP to a nuclear-powered LNG carrier design developed jointly by Samsung Heavy Industries and the Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute. The small modular reactor concept uses a molten-salt reactor designed to deliver 100 MW of propulsion power and to eliminate the need for fuel replacement during the vessel’s lifetime. Ulstein chief designer Øyvind Gjerde Kamsvåg said it is “all about incentives” and that pioneers among flag states would be required to drive adoption of the technology.