An LNG carrier File photo: VCG

 
Hudong-Zhonghua Shipbuilding (Group) Co, a subsidiary of China State Shipbuilding Corp (CSSC), on Thursday delivered a mainstream liquefied natural gas (LNG) carrier 47 days ahead of schedule, in another show of China's growing shipbuilding prowess and ability to ensure energy security.

The 174,000 cubic meter LNG carrier was built by Hudong-Zhonghua in partnership with China Shipbuilding Trading Co for an LNG transportation project of COSCO SHIPPING and PetroChina International, the Shanghai Securities News reported.

This marked the second LNG carrier delivered for the project following the delivery of the first vessel in late October. The first vessel was delivered six days earlier than the contract delivery date.

The new vessel was independently developed and designed by Hudong-Zhonghua, with an overall length of 295 meters, a molded beam of 45 meters and a molded depth of 26.25 meters. The vessel, with a designed speed of 19.5 knots per hour, sports a low rate of evaporation, low energy consumption, high reliability and decent environmental protection, among other internationally advanced functions, according to the report.

The new LNG carrier, as a messenger of prosperous trade, will operate along China-US shipping routes, said the shipowners. Its delivery ahead of schedule is also seen injecting new energy into efforts to ensure gas supplies during the winter for the Yangtze River Delta and the country at large.

The latest progress indicated a joint push to rely on local transport capacity for domestic LNG and tap into indigenous shipbuilding for homegrown vessels, the report said. The newly delivered LNG carrier is another pillar of China's energy industry and supply chain security.

Two years ago, China National Petroleum Corp joined COSCO SHIPPING and CSSC to embark on the first LNG transportation project sponsored entirely by Chinese organizations in an attempt to implement a long-term overseas LNG contract, Huang Xiaowen, executive vice president of COSCO SHIPPING, said during the October delivery ceremony of the first vessel.

Through the joint efforts of "Chinese shipowners, shipbuilders, financiers, inspectors, ship managers and insurers, the project established a model of supply chain cooperation in China's LNG industry chain, which is also of great significance for safeguarding China's national energy security," COSCO SHIPPING said in a statement in mid-November.

The new vessel builds on Hudong-Zhonghua's increasingly high-profile shipbuilding prowess. In mid-September, Hudong-Zhonghua delivered a supersized containership 12 days ahead of schedule.

The ship, with a capacity of 24,000 standard containers, was designed independently by Hudong-Zhonghua. The ship has entirely indigenous intellectual property. It is 399.99 meters long, more than 60 meters longer than the world's largest aircraft carrier, and 61.5 meters wide, media reports said.

The jumbo ship, a follow-up to a similar ultra-large ship delivered by Hudong-Zhonghua in late June, adopts the world's latest hydrodynamic optimization technology, which features high speeds and low fuel consumption.

Global Times