Chinese shipbuilder Hudong-Zhonghua said it has started building the fourth LNG carrier for compatriot Cosco Shipping Energy Transportation and CNPC’s unit PetroChina.
To mark the construction start, the CSSC-owned yard held a steel-cutting ceremony on July 4 for the 174,000-cbm LNG carrier with a working name H1834A, it said in a statement.
The partners signed the shipbuilding deal for this and other two LNG carriers in December last year, adding to the three LNG carriers Hudong-Zhonghua is already building under the PCI project and scheduled for delivery in 2022-2023.
Such as the first three LNG carriers, these vessels will also serve PetroChina under charter deals.
All of the vessels will feature WinGD X-DF dual-fuel engines and GTT’s NO96 L03+ containment system.
The 295 meters long ships each have a price tag of about $185 million, the same as the first three LNG carriers.
Hudong-Zhonghua should deliver the first LNG carrier by September 2024, the second by December 2024, and the third by March 2025.