Cosco Shipping Energy Transportation and PetroChina have signed a shipbuilding deal with Hudong-Zhonghua for the construction of two 174,000-cbm LNG carriers.
LNG Prime reported on July 3, citing shipbuilding sources, that Hudong-Zhonghua will build two more LNG carriers for United Liquefied Gas Shipping, a joint venture in which Cosco Shipping has an 81 percent stake and partner PetroChina holds the rest.
Cosco Shipping said in a statement that United Lucky LNG and United Propitious, both units of United Liquefied Gas Shipping, entered on July 25 into contracts with Hudong-Zhonghua and China Shipbuilding Trading.
According to Cosco Shipping, the deals for the two LNG carriers are worth 3.33 billion yuan ($465.5 million), or about 1.66 billion yuan ($233 million) per vessel.
Shipbuilding sources previously said that each of the vessel is worth almost $245 million, the highest price in China for a single 174,000-cbm LNG carrier.
The delivery of the two vessels is expected to take place in the second half of 2025 and the first half of 2026.
Following delivery, both of the vessels will go on long-term charter to PetroChina.
Also, the vessels will have WinGD X-DF dual-fuel engines and GTT’s NO96 L03+ containment system, such as the previous six ships under the PCI program.
This is the third stage of the Cosco Shipping-PetroChina project.
Hudong-Zhonghua delivered the first and the second LNG carrier under the PCI project, Shaolin and Wu Dang, last year, and the third carrier, Kun Lun, in March this year.
The shipbuilder recently launched the fourth LNG carrier as well.
These 295 meters long ships each have a price tag of about $185 million and will serve PetroChina under charter contracts.