Lloyd’s Register (LR) announced that six out of the eleven 24,000 TEU LNG dual-fuel powered ultra-large container ships ordered by Evergreen Marine, a shipowner from China’s Taiwan Province, will be constructed by Hanwha Ocean and classed by Lloyd’s Register.
LR said that in the early stage of developing the technical specifications for this batch of ships, Evergreen Marine had adopted the methanol fuel solution. However, after several rounds of technical demonstrations and market research, it was finally decided to use LNG as the fuel solution because it has better operational efficiency and reliability of the fuel supply chain in ultra-large container ship applications. It is worth mentioning that this is the first time that Evergreen Marine has invested in using LNG fuel.
With its rich experience in LNG-powered ship design review, risk assessment and emission monitoring, LR will participate in the ship’s design review, fuel system optimization and safety risk assessment throughout the process to ensure that the design fully meets the relevant international safety rules and the latest environmental regulations.
In February this year, Evergreen Marine issued a public announcement confirming that it will order 5 and 6 24,000 TEU LNG dual-fuel powered container ships from Guangzhou Shipyard International and Hanwha Ocean respectively. The total value of the 11 new ships is up to a maximum of US$3.245 billion.
On March 14, Evergreen Marine formally signed a contract with Hanwha Ocean to build six new ships, with a single ship costing US$267.3 million (388.1 billion won) and a total order value of approximately US$1.6 billion. The new ships are 400 meters long and 61.5 meters wide, equipped with LNG dual-fuel engines and Hanwha Ocean’s latest environmental protection technologies, including shaft engines and air lubrication systems.