On September 15, Dalian Shipbuilding, a subsidiary of China State Shipbuilding Corporation (CSSC), signed an order with China Merchants Shipbuilding for a new 306,000 DWT methanol dual-fuel-powered intelligent VLCC.
The vessel is the world’s first methanol dual-fuel-powered VLCC and is equipped with desulfurization scrubber tower and shaft-belt engine. The delivery date is expected to be at the end of 2025, and the place of delivery will be Dalian Shipyard.
The vessel is the world’s first methanol dual-fuel powered VLCC and is the latest eighth generation VLCC type independently developed by Dalian Shipbuilding, with an overall length of about 333 meters and a beam of 60 meters. By applying the latest ship design, the comprehensive performance is more excellent, and it is able to navigate the Strait of Malacca quickly, shorten the operation cycle, and effectively improve the operation efficiency of the ship.The vessel adopts green methanol fuel as the ship power fuel and is designed to meet the latest international conventions, specifications and requirements of major oil carriers, and the ship energy efficiency design index has met the EEDI stage 3 standard ahead of schedule.Meanwhile, the vessel will be equipped with intelligent applications such as the domestic self-developed intelligent platform and intelligent liquid cargo control system (DS-iCargo).
This is another new breakthrough for Dalian Shipbuilding in greening and intelligentizing the shipbuilding industry, following the successful delivery of LNG-fueled power VLCCs in 2022 and operational green ecological VLCCs in 2023.
China Merchants Shipbuilding is an important strategic partner of Dalian Shipbuilding. The two partners have successfully cooperated on projects such as 300,000 DWT super-large crude oil tanker VLCC, 110,000 DWT crude oil tanker, and 175,000 cbm LNG carrier. The signing of this methanol dual-fuel-powered intelligent VLCC newbuilding order is a vivid practice of the two enterprises’ adherence to the dual-carbon strategy, and a useful exploration of promoting green and low-carbon transformation.