On November 24, Hudong-Zhonghua Shipbuilding (Group) Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of China State Shipbuilding Corporation, named and delivered ahead of schedule the first 174,000m³ liquefied natural gas (LNG) carrier “Qingcheng” built for the LNG Transportation Phase III Project, which is jointly developed by COSCO Shipping and PetroChina. This marks the seventh large LNG carrier delivered by Hudong-Zhonghua Shipbuilding for the project. With this delivery, Hudong-Zhonghua has now delivered a total of nine LNG carriers this year, setting a new annual record for LNG carrier deliveries in China.
This project marks the first LNG carrier initiative with an entirely Chinese background. Throughout its advancement, COSCO Shipping Energy Transportation, PetroChina International, Hudong-Zhonghua Shipbuilding, and Kunlun Financial Leasing collaborated to establish China’s first benchmark project for RMB-financed LNG carrier investment.
The breakthrough in RMB settlement across the entire chain of chartering, shipbuilding, and financing not only provides a unique “Chinese solution” for building a financial ecosystem for the LNG industry chain, but also establishes a new paradigm for RMB settlement that can be replicated and promoted.
The project comprises three phases with a total of 8 LNG carriers of 174,000 m³ capacity, establishing a benchmark for in-depth collaboration across China’s LNG industrial and supply chains. To date, Hudong-Zhonghua Shipbuilding has successfully completed the first and second phases, with six LNG carriers named “Shaolin”, “Wudang”, “Kunlun”, “Emei”, “Huashan” and “Kongtong” all delivered. Dubbed the “Six Major Martial Arts Schools”, these vessels have been operating smoothly and fulfilling contracts efficiently, having safely transported over 5 million tons of LNG globally. Adhering to the craftsman spirit of striving for excellence, Hudong-Zhonghua Shipbuilding provides the most solid guarantee for the high-quality delivery of the project.
Hudong-Zhonghua Shipbuilding and COSCO Shipping Energy Transportation have a long-standing partnership, having jointly built 43 LNG carriers with another 21 vessels currently under construction. COSCO Shipping praised Hudong-Zhonghua for advancing lean management and smart manufacturing, leveraging its sophisticated technology and exceptional quality to build China’s “energy giants” that traverse the oceans.
The “Qingcheng” was independently developed by Hudong-Zhonghua Shipbuilding. It is 295 meters long, 45 meters wide, and 26.25 meters deep, with a service speed of 19.5 knots. It is classed by Lloyd’s Register (LR) and China Classification Society (CCS) and has many features such as low evaporation rate, low energy consumption, high reliability, high environmental protection, strong versatility, and excellent economy.
This type of vessel has a reliquefaction capacity of 1.5 tons/hour, adaptable to varying operational requirements for balanced utilization of evaporated gas. This type of vessel adopts the world’s latest generation of dual-fuel low-speed propulsion power system, uses domestically produced propellers, and has re-optimized the matching of “vessel, engine and propeller”, resulting in a 1.25% reduction in main engine power and further reduction in fuel consumption.
Both the main engine and generator are equipped with SCR (Selective Catalytic Reduction) environmental control systems, enabling compliance with the world’s most stringent emission standards in both fuel and gas modes.