A COSCO ship at Qingdao Port in East China's Shandong Province on February 11 Photo: IC

 
Chinese shipyard COSCO Shipping Heavy Industry has completed the construction of a floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel, also the world's largest one, that will be used by a liquefied natural gas (LNG) project in Africa, according to a report from stcn.com on Tuesday.

The ship will serve the Tortue/Ahmeyim liquefied natural gas field off the coast of Mauritania and Senegal in West Africa after delivery, supplying LNG to Mauritania, Senegal and other countries in the region, according to the report. The project will also play an important role in the development of international green energy.

The ship was reportedly ordered by British oil and gas giant BP PLC and was jointly built by COSCO Shipping Heavy Industry Co and TechnipFMC PLC. A completion ceremony for the Tortue FPSO was held last Friday.

The vessel is 70 meters long, 54 meters wide, and 31.5 meters deep. The designed service life is 30 years and the oil storage capacity is 1.44 million barrels. The living quarters can accommodate 140 people.

The construction started in May 2019 and it included the design, procurement, construction and commissioning of the main hull and living quarters and the construction and integration of all topside modules.

FPSOs are complex and specialist vessels designed for the petroleum industry, to store oil and gas from offshore fields for future offloading to tankers taking it to customers internationally.

China held its lead in the global shipbuilding industry in the first half of 2022, with a 45.2 percent share of the global market, according to statistics released by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT). The nation's shipyards completed 18.5 million deadweight tons (DWT) of orders, ranking first in the world, the data showed.

China was also first in terms of new orders, with a share of 50.8 percent, though new orders went down 41.3 percent year-on-year to 22.46 million DWT, according to the MIIT.