Chinese shipbuilder Hudong-Zhonghua is moving forward with works on the first LNG carrier it is building for compatriot shipowner COSCO and energy giant CNPC.
The yard lifted this week the last giant block on the newbuild to complete the hull form, laying a solid foundation for subsequent undocking, according to a Hudong statement.
Hudong held a keel-laying ceremony for this 174,000-cbm vessel in June this year and for the second in September.
Following delivery in 2022 and 2023, all of the three carriers will transport LNG for CNPC’s Hong Kong-listed unit PetroChina.
Also, the vessels should ship volumes from Cheniere’s Corpus Christi plant in the US to China.
The PCI project represents the first LNG transportation project developed solely by Chinese companies including COSCO Shipping Energy Transportation, CNPC and Hudong.
All of the vessels will feature WinGD X-DF dual-fuel engines and GTT’s NO96 L03+ containment system.
In addition, the two partners and Hudong signed a deal earlier this year for three 174,000-cbm sister LNG carriers.
These new carriers are options from the original order the three firms signed in June last year.