Chinese shipbuilder Hudong-Zhonghua said it has launched the second LNG carrier for compatriot shipowner COSCO Shipping Energy Transportation.
Hudong held the launching ceremony for the 174,000-cbm LNG vessel at its Changxing base on Wednesday.
This comes some two months after the float out of the first vessel in this batch of three LNG carriers.
Following delivery in 2022 and 2023, all of the three carriers will transport LNG for CNPC’s Hong Kong-listed unit PetroChina.
They 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.
All of the vessels will feature WinGD X-DF dual-fuel engines and GTT’s NO96 L03+ containment system.
In addition to these ships, COSCO Shipping, PetroChina, and Hudong recently signed a deal for three new 174,000-cbm sister LNG carriers.
These carriers are options from the original order the three firms signed in June 2020.
Hudong should deliver these vessels in 2024 and 2025.
The 295 meters long ships each have a price tag of about $185 million, the same as the first three LNG carriers, shipbuilding sources previously told LNG Prime.
