On September 20, a 1,000-ton gantry crane hoisted the Type B LNG fuel tank onto a 16,000 TEU container ship at Yangzi Xinfu Shipbuilding. This event marked the successful completion of the tank, built by Jiangsu Watts Energy & Engineering Co., Ltd. (“WE”) for the vessel series.
The Type B LNG fuel tank delivered this time has a single tank capacity of 13,000 cubic meters. The main body is made of high-performance 9Ni steel plate. The weight of a single tank exceeds 1,100 tons. It is the world’s largest Type B LNG fuel tank, and its technical complexity and construction difficulty ranking among the highest in the industry.
The successful delivery of this high-difficulty product demonstrates the gradual establishment of a complete workflow for the Type B tank production line, from initial inexperience to process design, and covering material handling, component assembly and welding, as well as block joining.
By optimizing the hoisting process, WE achieved a key breakthrough in assembling blocks into large spans within the workshop, improving construction quality, shortening the construction period, forming a professional system for high-end manufacturing, and ultimately achieving “zero quality deviation and no delivery delays.”
As an active participant in clean energy solutions for the shipping industry, WE’s product line now covers the full range of liquid cargo tanks—Types A, B, and C. The completion of this eight-ship series not only marks a successful collaboration between WE and Yangzijiang Shipbuilding Group but also underscores WE’s construction capabilities and innovation prowess in the field of gas engineering.
Moving forward, WE will continue to prioritize quality standards as our core focus, optimizing and upgrading production lines to unlock greater efficiency and precision. Leveraging our proven manufacturing capabilities and responsive service delivery, we will provide globally competitive clean energy equipment solutions for our customers. This commitment will accelerate the green transformation of maritime shipping and solidify our leadership in high-end liquid cargo tank manufacturing.