China’s Hudong-Zhonghua Shipbuilding has won a new order to build one liquefied natural gas (LNG) carrier.
The shipbuilder said in a statement on Friday it has signed the construction deal with CSSC Shipping, the financial leasing unit of China State Shipbuilding Corporation. CSSC is also the parent company of Hudong.
Hudong is already building two 174,000-cbm LNG carriers for CSSC Shipping as part of a contract signed in December 2019.
Under the current shipbuilding schedule, Hudong should deliver LNG carrier Mu Lan in September this year and Gui Ying in February 2022.
The third carrier will also be 295 meters long and 45 meters wide.
Part of Hudong’s fourth-generation Changxing series, the LNG carrier will feature WinGD’s X-DF dual-fuel engines and GTT’s NO96 L03+ containment system. It will also have a reliquefaction system.
In addition, Hudong said it would improve the technical performance of the new LNG tanker compared to its sister vessels.
The yard did not reveal the price tag of the LNG carrier but shipbuilding sources told LNG Prime that CSSC Shipping would pay about $190 million for the vessel. CSSC Shipping splashed around $180 million for each of the vessels as part of the deal in 2019.
Moreover, the sources also said that the new vessel would go on charter to a European company.
Hudong will deliver the LNG carrier some 30 months after the contract signing.
The new contract comes just two weeks after Chinese shipowner COSCO and energy giant CNPC have confirmed plans to order three additional LNG carriers at Hudong.