China’s Nantong CIMC Sinopacific Offshore & Engineering has officially started building a new liquefied natural gas (LNG) bunkering and supply vessel for UK-based Avenir LNG.
CIMC SOE hosted a steel-cutting ceremony for the 20,000-cbm vessel (Hull No. S1123) on July 21.
The shipbuilder noted that this vessel is part of a second order it received from Avenir LNG after it built four vessel for the small-scale company.
In 2024, Avenir LNG ordered two 20,000-cbm LNG bunkering and supply vessels at CIMC SOE.
The ship (Hull No. S1123) is the first in this batch of two.
The vessel will serve Vitol under a charter deal for seven years with options to extend up to 10 years in total.
It will be delivered in the fourth quarter of 2026, while its sister vessel will be delivered in the first quarter of 2027.
With an overall length of 160 meters, a beam of 25 meters, and a design speed of 15.5 knots, the vessel features a WinGD dual-fuel main engine equipped with iCER technology, according to CIMC SOE.
The newbuilding also features a new type C tank design, a lower boil-off rate, hull form optimization, and subcoolers.
Avenir is now fully owned by Norway’s Stolt-Nielsen, following the latter’s recent acquisition of Avenir’s remaining shares.
Prior to that, Stolt-Nielsen bought Avenir stakes from Golar LNG and Hoegh family holding company Aequitas.
Avenir has a fleet of five vessels on the water and two under construction.