Singapore’s Pacific International Lines is to order new LNG-powered container vessels in China, as part of the company’s plans to slash emissions, according to shipbuilding sources.
Earlier this year, PIL placed an order for four 14,000-teu LNG-dual fuel containerships at China’s Jiangnan Shipyard for about $160 million per vessel.
Following delivery in 2024 and 2025, these vessels will be the first ammonia-ready LNG-powered vessels in PIL’s fleet.
Now the company plans to add six 8,000-teu LNG dual-fuel ships to the fleet and has already signed a letter of intent with China’s Yangzijiang Shipbuilding, the sources said.
One source said that the two firms would sign the shipbuilding contract “very soon”.
Also, these vessels would feature WinGD dual-fuel engines and GTT’s Mark III membrane system.
They will also be ammonia-ready, such as the four ships ordered at Jiangnan, one source said.
This makes it possible to retrofit the vessels to run on ammonia once the technology becomes commercially available.
PIL would start taking deliveries of these six ships in the first quarter of 2025, the source said.
The price has not been revealed, but looking at some similar contracts lately it could be around $120 million.
This year, Yangzijiang delivered the 14,280-teu LNG-powered, MSC Washington, MSC’s first LNG-fueled containership. It also recently handed over the third out of four LNG ISO tank carriers to Tiger Gas.
Besides these ships, Yangzijiang won a contract from Seaspan to build LNG-powered 7,000-teu container vessels.