Chinese shipbuilder Hudong-Zhonghua has started building a new 174,000-cbm LNG carrier for Japan’s MOL and compatriot CNOOC.
Hudong-Zhonghua held a steel-cutting ceremony for the vessel with a hull number H1885A on September 5, it said in a statement.
According to the shipbuilder, it started building the vessel three months ahead of schedule.
Hudong-Zhonghua also noted that it is currently building 19 LNG vessels at the same time.
This new LNG carrier is the sixth and last in this batch of MOL’s vessels.
MOL, in a partnership with COSCO Shipping’s unit CSLNG, ordered these six vessels from Hudong-Zhonghua in January 2022 for about $1.17 billion. CNOOC is also part of the JV which owns the vessels.
Earlier this year, Hudong-Zhonghua delivered the 174,000-cbm LNG carrier, Greenergy Ocean, equipped with GTT’s new NO96 Super+ containment system.
This is the first LNG carrier in this series and the world’s first fifth-generation “Changheng” series LNG carrier, according to Hudong-Zhonghua.
Besides GTT’s NO96 Super+ containment system, the 299 meters long vessel features WinGD 5X72DF2.1 dual-fuel main engine.
All of the ships will serve CNOOC’s gas and power unit under long-term charter deals and are expected to be delivered by 2026.