China’s Yangzijiang Shipbuilding has handed over the LNG dual-fuel containership, MSC San Francisco, to Switzerland-based MSC.
Jiangsu Yangzi Xinfu Shipbuilding, a unit of Yangzijiang, delivered the vessel on April 30, and the vessel departed the yard on May 4.
Yangzijiang said this is MSC’s sixth LNG dual-fuel containership in a series of vessels with a capacity of 16,000 TEU.
Also, this ship is the third large containership built by Yangzijiang equipped with a wind deflector, which can reduce the wind resistance of the ship during sailing.
The fourth vessel, MSC Annamaria, and the fifth vessel, MSC Germany, also feature a wind deflector, while the other three ships in this series do not have this technology.
In October 2022, Yangzijiang secured an order to build twelve LNG-powered containerships with a capacity of 16,000 teu for MSC.
Yangzijiang said in February that it had secured orders for 38 LNG dual-fuel and 23 methanol dual-fuel containerships in 2024.
According to Yangzijiang, 28 of these LNG dual-fuel containerships will have a capacity of 17,000 teu, while 10 vessels will have a capacity of 9,000 teu.
In total, Yangzijiang has 62 LNG dual-fuel containerships in its order book.