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According to a statement by the CSSC-controlled shipbuilder, it held a ceremony on December 6 to mark the delivery of the 174,000-cbm LNG carrier, Hlaitan.
This is the third LNG carrier Hudong-Zhonghua delivered as part of the QatarEnergy shipbuilding program this year.
Hudong-Zhonghua delivered Rex Tillerson, the first LNG carrier built as part of QatarEnergy’s massive shipbuilding program, and its sister vessel Umm Ghuwailina in September.
Also, the three vessels are part of 12 conventional-size LNG vessels contracted with Hudong-Zhonghua.
State-run LNG giant QatarEnergy signed charter deals in April 2022 for these three LNG carriers with Japan’s MOL, completing the first batch of charter contracts awarded under its massive shipbuilding program.
Moreover, the vessels are owned by MOL and China’s Cosco Shipping Energy Transportation and are under long-term charter by QatarEnergy Trading, a unit of QatarEnergy.
The vessels, part of Hudong-Zhonghua’s fifth-generation Changxeng series, are 299 meters long and 46.4 meters wide, and they feature GTT’s NO96 Super+ containment system and WinGD dual-fuel main engine.
Yearly LNG carrier delivery record
With the delivery of Hlaitan, Hudong-Zhonghua handed over a total of seven LNG carriers this year, setting a new record for the annual delivery of large LNG carriers by Chinese shipbuilders.
Hudong-Zhonhua will hand over another LNG carrier during this month for a total of eight deliveries this year.
The shipbuilder previously said it plans to launch 11 LNG ships and complete 8 ships this year as part of its plans to double LNG carrier production capacity.
Last year, Hudong-Zhonghua delivered a record six LNG carriers.
Besides these 12 174,000-cbm LNG carriers, Hudong-Zhonghua won orders to build 24 QC-Max mega vessels under the QatarEnergy program.
These vessels are worth about $333 million each.
Eight of the 18 QC-Max size LNG vessels will be delivered in 2028 and 2029, while the other ten will be delivered in 2030 and 2031.
Each of the world’s largest LNG vessels will be 344 meters long, 53.6 meters wide, and will have a draft of 12 meters.
The vessels feature WinGD dual-fuel propulsion, a reliquefaction system, an air lubrication system, and GTT’s NO96 Super+ containment tech. The vessels have five storage tanks.