China’s Hudong-Zhonghua hits yearly LNG carrier delivery record

CSSC’s Hudong-Zhonghua handed over the 174,000-cbm LNG carrier, Qingcheng, on Monday.

The shipbuilder said the vessel was handed over ahead of schedule.

This is the seventh of eight vessels built for owner Cosco Shipping Energy Transportation and charterer PetroChina.

It is the first of two 295-meter-long LNG carriers Hudong-Zhonghua built under the third stage of the Cosco Shipping-PetroChina project.

United Liquefied Gas Shipping, a joint venture in which Cosco Shipping has an 81 percent stake and partner PetroChina holds the rest, ordered two LNG carriers in July 2023.

The second vessel is expected to be delivered next year.

Also, the ships feature WinGD X-DF dual-fuel engines and GTT’s NO96 L03+ containment system, similar to the previous ships under the PCI program.

With this new delivery, Hudong-Zhonghua broke its yearly LNG carrier delivery record, set last year, when it delivered eight LNG carriers.

However, Hudong-Zhongua expects this year’s total deliveries to reach 11 vessels, raising the bar even higher.

Last month, Hudong-Zhonghua delivered four large LNG carriers, setting a new monthly record.

Currently, the shipbuilder has over 50 orders for large LNG carriers, with more than 20 vessels under construction.