Photo: Screenshot from stdaily.com

The first vessel of China's largest-scale liquefied natural gas (LNG) transport ship construction project was delivered on Wednesday by Hudong-Zhonghua Shipbuilding Co in Shanghai, marking a milestone in China's shipbuilding industry.

The ship, named Greenergy Ocean, is 299 meters long, 46.4 meters wide and 26.25 meters deep. It is the first of 12 ships planned under the project.

The ship requires a substantial 25,000 tons of steel, featuring a deck area comparable to three standard football fields. It has the capability to accommodate 174,000 cubic meters of LNG, meeting the monthly gas demand of 7 million households.

Compared with the previous model, the new vessel has shed more than 1,500 tons in weight, leading to improved fuel efficiency. This means a daily reduction of more than 10 tons in carbon emissions per voyage and an added capacity of 800 cubic meters of LNG per trip, Hudong-Zhonghua Shipbuilding Co said in a statement sent to the Global Times on Wednesday.

The new ship stands out in four key features: versatile cargo holds, strong capacity, optimal route compatibility and efficient adaptation to diverse operational demands.

"The delivery of this vessel symbolizes China's strengthened capacity in the global energy landscape and mastery of high-end shipbuilding technology. With more self-built LNG transportation ships, we can enhance our bargaining power and discourse power in the global LNG market," Cao Heping, an economist at Peking University, told the Global Times on Wednesday.

In recent years, driven by China's robust economic growth and the implementation of its "dual-carbon" goals of peaking carbon emissions by 2030 and achieving carbon neutrality by 2060, LNG imports have surged. 

In 2023, LNG imports hit 71.32 million tons, up 12.6 percent year-on-year, making China the world's largest LNG importer.

"LNG maritime transport acts as a pivotal bridge linking domestic and international resources. Improving the self-reliance and control of LNG transportation is now crucial for ensuring smooth energy flow throughout the nation's transport networks," Tian Yun, a veteran economist, told the Global Times on Wednesday.

In the next decade, as China's shipbuilding industry undergoes continual refinement and moves toward high-end development, it has the potential to be a standalone sector like our new-energy vehicles, securing a leading position in the global market, according to Tian.

As the global energy structure develops, there's a surge in demand for LNG international trade, propelling the LNG shipping market into rapid expansion. 

From 2022 to 2026, the industry anticipates 14 new LNG projects internationally, requiring approximately 227 large carriers. Since 2000, China National Offshore Oil Corp, the largest offshore oil and gas producer in China, has commissioned the construction of 10 domestically produced large-scale LNG carriers. China's LNG industry is poised to enter a golden era in the future.