On July 19, Hudong-Zhonghua Shipbuilding (Group) Co., Ltd, a subsidiary of China State Shipbuilding Corporation (CSSC), delivered the “Huaihe Nengyuan Qihang”, China’s first-build river-sea direct 14,000m3 liquefied natural gas (LNG) bunkering vessel, two months ahead of schedule.
Hudong-Zhonghua customized the “Huaihe Nengyuan Qihang” for Huaihe Energy Holding Group. Huaihe Energy Group is one of the 14 billion-ton coal bases and 6 large coal power bases in China, the largest enterprise in Anhui Province in terms of coal production capacity and electric power rights and interests, and an important energy security base in East China and the Yangtze River Delta region.
Classed by China Classification Society (CCS), “Huaihe Nengyuan Qihang” is 130 meters in length overall, 23.6 meters in breadth, and 15 meters in depth. This 14,000m3 LNG bunkering vessel adopts dual-fuel power full slewing thruster, which can realize flexible operation in narrow inland waterways, and is equipped with an enhanced intelligent integrated automation system of “Intelligent Platform+Intelligent Navigation+Intelligent Energy Efficiency”.
With the unique shallow draft design, it not only meets the design requirements of ocean-going unlimited navigation area, but also realizes the seaworthiness under the extreme low water level of the Changjiang River waterway, and can pass through the Nanjing Yangtze River Bridge all year round, realizing the dual function of one-stop LNG bunkering and transportation directly between the river and the sea, which is called the “Changjiang River customized model” LNG bunkering and transportation vessel.
Developed as a demonstration project, “Huaihe Energy Sailing” has been highly valued by the Chinese government. Hudong-Zhonghua Shipbuilding and Huaihe Energy Group have taken up the responsibility for the development of the LNG industry chain, cooperating with dozens of domestic enterprises to carry out intellectual research and promote the independent research and development of key equipments.
The LNG bunkering vessel’s localization rate is over 80%, a record high. It is equipped with Hudong-Zhonghua’s independently developed and national patent-authorized B-tank LNG containment system, which is the first time for the system to realize the first set of engineering applications on domestic LNG carriers, marking a major breakthrough in China’s development of the B-tank LNG containment system, which is fully independent of intellectual property rights.
Shanghai Marine Diesel Engine Research institute (SMDERI) independently developed the LNG deep-cooling re-liquefaction device, the core equipment of the LNG bunkering vessel’s liquid cargo system. After 3 years of technical research, SMDERI broke through a number of key technologies such as dynamic simulation of deep-cooling process, magnetic levitation bearing control, and successfully developed a high-power magnetic levitation compression/expansion units, which can realize high-efficiency and large cooling output at minus 175℃.
Meanwhile, thanks to the enhancement of intelligent manufacturing level and the increase of localization rate, Hudong-Zhonghua has controlled the construction cycle within 16 months. A series of new home-made equipments have been verified, and all the data fully comply with the design requirements, and the high quality construction has been highly praised by the shipowner.
The Changjiang River is the main artery of China’s east-west water transport, with an annual water transport carrying capacity of more than 3 billion tons, accounting for more than 60% of the country’s total inland waterway transport. For a long time, the Changjiang River water transportation relies on diesel, heavy oil as the power fuel ships, environmental pollution problems are increasingly prominent.
The completion of “Huaihe Nengyuan Qihang” is of great significance in promoting the bunkering of LNG-powered vessels in the Changjiang River and opening up the transportation channel for inland LNG carriers. With the continuous promotion of China’s “Double Carbon Strategy” and the commissioning of “Huaihe Nengyuan Qihang”, the market for small LNG carriers will receive more and more attention, which will further accelerate the transformation of all types of transportation vessels in the Changjiang River into LNG-powered vessels and accelerate the realization of the goal of reducing comprehensive pollution emissions by 70%, contributing to the integrated development of the Yangtze River Delta region.