Liquefied natural gas (LNG) carriers, as a prime example of high-value-added vessels, are regarded as the “crown jewel of the shipbuilding industry,” and only a handful of shipyards worldwide possess the capability to build them. With this delivery, China adds another key player to this exclusive list.
On April 8, a naming ceremony was held for the “CELSIUS GEORGETOWN,” China’s first 180,000-cubic-meter LNG carrier, built at the China Merchants Shipping Industry Haimen base.
The naming and delivery of this vessel marks another key milestone for Chinese shipyards in the field of LNG carrier construction. Haimen Base has officially joined the ranks of the very few shipbuilders worldwide capable of constructing large LNG carriers, becoming China’s fourth shipyard to successfully deliver a large LNG carrier, following Hudong-Zhonghua, Jiangnan Shipyard, and Dalian Shipbuilding.
The “CELSIUS GEORGETOWN” is the lead vessel in a series of LNG carriers contracted between Haimen Base and the Danish shipowner Celsius; the total number of LNG carriers under construction through this partnership has now reached 12. Construction of the lead vessel began in October 2023, with both the design and construction independently completed by China Merchants Group. Currently, four more vessels of the same type are nearing completion and ready for sea trials at Haimen Base.
The “CELSIUS GEORGETOWN” is also the first large LNG carrier built by Haimen Base. Developed jointly by Deltamarin and the Haimen Base, it features a design with proprietary intellectual property rights. The vessel has an overall length of approximately 298.8 meters, a beam of 48 meters, a draft of 26.5 meters, a design draft of 11.5 meters, and a service speed of 19.5 knots, a range of 22,000 nautical miles, and utilizes the GTT MARK III Flex membrane containment system.
In October 2022, Haimen Base signed a patent cooperation agreement with France’s GTT for the LNG MARK III membrane containment system, thereby obtaining the qualification to build large LNG carriers using the GTT MARK III membrane containment system.
LNG carriers are specialized vessels designed to transport LNG at a temperature of minus 163 degrees Celsius. This class of vessel is internationally recognized as high-tech, highly complex, and high-value-added, and is often likened to the “jewel in the crown” of the shipbuilding industry, alongside aircraft carriers and luxury cruise ships.
To date, there are five shipyards in China currently building large LNG carriers. Three of these are subsidiaries of China State Shipbuilding Corporation (CSSC)—Hudong-Zhonghua, Jiangnan Shipyard, and Dalian Shipbuilding—while the other two are China Merchants Shipbuilding’s Haimen Base and Yangzijiang Shipbuilding.