Chinese shipbuilder Hudong-Zhonghua has started building the first out of six new 174,000-cbm LNG carriers for Japan’s MOL and compatriot CNOOC.
Hudong-Zhonghua held a steel-cutting ceremony for the vessel with a working name H1880A on August 5, it said in a statement.
MOL, in a partnership with COSCO Shipping’s unit CSLNG, ordered these six vessels from Hudong-Zhonghua in January this year for about $1.17 billion.
All of the ships will serve CNOOC’s gas and power unit under long-term charter deals.
Part of Hudong-Zhonghua’s fifth-generation Changxeng series, the 299 meters long vessels will feature WinGD’s X-DF dual-fuel engines and GTT’s NO96 Super+ containment system.
The Chinese shipbuilder will deliver the vessels from 2024 through 2026.
Hudong-Zhonghua has this year won several orders for LNG carriers.
This includes the six 174,000-cbm LNG carriers for the second CNOOC transportation project. Japan’s NYK ordered these vessels with CNOOC and China Merchants Group.
In addition to these 12 vessels worth about $2.4 billion, COSCO Shipping also ordered two vessels for charter to Sinochem, while MOL ordered four ships for charter to QatarEnergy.
CSSC Shipping also placed an order in January this year.