China’s first order of liquefied natural gas (LNG)-powered intelligent marine patrol ships were  delivered on Saturday in Qidong City, East China’s Jiangsu Province, marking that the design and construction capability of the country’s green and intelligent offshore vessels has reached an international first-class level.

The ships were completely designed and built domestically, including the intelligent shipping system, core LNG storage tank as well as gas supply system, refilling system and main engine, which all have independent intellectual property rights.

The two ships, “Haiyang Shiyou 542” and “Haiyang Shiyou 547”, built by China National Offshore Oil Corp (CNOOC), specialize in providing support services for China's offshore oil development, including patrol, cargo transportation, rescue and external fire-fighting services.

According to the CNOOC, the company has upgraded the intelligent ships on the basis of the original LNG-powered guardian ships, integrating more than 30 sets of intelligent equipment, over 40 intelligent sensors and more than 280 intelligent monitoring points into the whole ship arrangement.

Tian Jun, a senior official from the company, said that the ships are the first LNG-powered guardian vessels in the world that is equipped with four intelligent systems at the same time.

Taking the intelligent navigation system as an example, its function is similar to the auto-pilot function of a car. When navigating at night or on foggy days, it can provide optimal navigation suggestions and achieve collision avoidance by analyzing collected data, Tian noted.

So far, China has more than 300 vessels serving for offshore oil development, but none of intelligent LNG-powered guardian ships. Ship intelligence can effectively improve the safety and efficiency of ships, as well as protecting environment.

Tang Haibo, another official from the CNOOC, said that in order to build a more competitive low-carbon industrial system, the company has launched a project to build 12 LNG-powered ocean patrol vessels. 

Tang noted that the delivery of these ships is of great significance in accelerating the green and intelligent development of China's offshore oil equipment, promoting the high-quality development of the country’s oil and gas industry.

Global Times