CSSC Jiangnan Shipyard handed over the “GAS BEGONIA” on August 18, the eighth unit in a 99,000-cubic-meter VLEC series for Southwest Maritime. The vessel had previously received its name on June 23.
The 99,000-cubic-meter VLEC was independently developed and built by Jiangnan Shipyard using the company’s proprietary Type B cargo containment system (BrillianceE®). It is the world’s largest VLEC in terms of cargo capacity, and its comprehensive technical specifications have been certified as being at the international leading level.
With a total length of 230 meters, this vessel is suitable for transporting a variety of liquefied industrial and energy gases, including ethane, ethylene, and LPG. It is the optimal vessel type “tailored” for long-distance ethane transport in the United States, while also offering broad compatibility with major LPG terminals worldwide. This vessel type offers advantages such as low fuel (or gas) consumption, a low boil-off rate (BOR), no liquid-level loading restrictions, and low maintenance costs, resulting in significant economic benefits.
This vessel was built through a tripartite collaboration between Jiangnan Shipyard, Southwest Maritime, and ABS. The construction team maintained thorough communication and coordination with the shipowner and classification society regarding every detail and procedure, successfully transitioning from system-level submissions to regional submissions. This approach enhanced regional compliance and accelerated the acceptance process, resulting in delivery 140 days ahead of the contractual schedule.