HD Hyundai Samho has recently delivered 174,000 cbm of liquefied natural gas (LNG) carrier Nantes Knutsen to Norwegian shipping company Knutsen Group.
To date, HD Hyundai Samho has received orders for 15 conventional 174,000 cbm LNG carriers from Knudsen, valued at $2.97 billion. The delivery of the Nantes Knutsen, which is the 11th vessel to be built under the partnership, was ordered by Knudsen in 2020 and will be on long-term charter to Shell after delivery.
This series of LNG carriers is 299 meters long and 46.4 meters wide; equipped with the Mark III Flex membrane containment system; equipped with MAN ES LNG dual-fuel engines (ME-GA); equipped with a new generation air lubrication system (Hi-ALS) that completely re-liquefies the gas evaporated in the LNG cargo tanks. Wärtsilä, the Finnish technology group, is supplying the re-liquefaction technology.
Notably, in order to effectively respond to the increasing number of orders for eco-friendly vessels, such as LNG carriers and Very Large Ammonia Carriers (VLACs), HD Hyundai Samho has completed its second dolphin berth in July this year. The project started in July 2023 with a total investment of 110.2 billion won.
A dolphin berth is a facility that is connected to the ocean adjacent to the land by the installation of a sturdy post structure, which allows vessels to berth on the left and right sides to maximize the efficiency of the berth as compared to a regular berth.