Chinese shipbuilder Hudong-Zhonghua has almost completed the first LNG carrier it is building for compatriot Cosco Shipping Energy Transportation and CNPC’s unit PetroChina.
The 174,000-cbm LNG carrier, Shaolin, completed its sea trials on August 23, according to a statement by the shipbuilder.
Hudong-Zhonghua expects the LNG carrier to depart for gas trials in early September.
This is the first out of three LNG carriers Hudong-Zhonghua is building under the PCI project for Cosco and PetroChina.
The shipbuilder launched this vessel in November last year. It expects to deliver this ship and the two other vessels in 2022-2023.
Besides these vessels, Cosco and PetroChina ordered three additional sister LNG carriers in December last year.
Hudong-Zhonghua should deliver the first LNG carrier in this batch by September 2024, the second by December 2024, and the third by March 2025.
The shipbuilder already started building the first out of these three carriers.
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 and will serve PetroChina under charter contracts.
