On January 15, Hudong-Zhonghua Shipbuilding (Group) Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of China State Shipbuilding Corporation, held a naming ceremony for the 174,000 m³ LNG carrier “LIMAIL” (H1793A) four months ahead of schedule at the Changxing Phase II shipyard. This vessel is the fourth of its kind delivered under QatarEnergy’s “historic LNG fleet expansion program” and the first to be named in 2025, marking the beginning of a new round of LNG capacity expansion for the company.
“LIMAIL” is the fourth vessel in the initial batch of orders undertaken by Hudong-Zhonghua Shipbuilding. The company has achieved remarkable progress through innovative optimization of processes, vigorous promotion of digital construction, and continuous improvement of lean production. Each vessel’s construction cycle has been shorter than the previous one, with the second vessel being 76 days faster than the first, the third vessel 20 days faster than the second, and the fourth vessel 34 days faster than the third. Over a period of four months and five days, the company has successfully delivered four high-quality vessels.
The vessel is tailor-made according to the technical standards of QatarEnergy to operate the world’s largest LNG fleet, with the latest design concept, the best technology and equipment, the strongest environmental performance and the most forward-looking. With an overall length of 299 meters, a beam of 46.4 meters, and a depth of 26.25 meters, the vessel adopts the latest generation of double stern-fin lines and is equipped with a number of low-carbon and digital technologies and equipment, and is classified by American Bureau of Shipping (ABS) and China Classification Society (CCS).
The year 2025 will be the year when Hudong-Zhonghua Shipbuilding will focus on the delivery of LNG carriers, and it plans to complete and deliver more than 10 large-scale LNG carriers in the whole year, which will promote China’s LNG production capacity to reach a new height. In order to achieve this goal, Hudong-Zhonghua Shipbuilding has already formed a new production pattern of 2 large factories and 3 shipyards, and is building 19 LNG carriers at the same time, and batch, beat and standardized construction of LNG carriers has become routine.