On December 14, Hyundai Samho Heavy Industries(HSHI) delivered a 174,000 m3 liquefied natural gas (LNG) carrier ‘Ignacy Lukasiewicz’ to Norwegian shipping company Knutsen Group. After completing the final preparations on board, the vessel will be refueled, cooled and loaded with LNG before its maiden voyage.
The naming ceremony for the Ignacy Lukasiewicz took place on October 19th. And Knutsen Group has signed a 10-year charter with PGNiG Supply & Trading, a subsidiary of Polish petrochemical giant ORLEN Group, for the transport of LNG from the United States. Knutsen Group has signed a 10-year charter with PGNiG Supply & Trading, a subsidiary of Polish petrochemical giant ORLEN Group, for the transportation of LNG from the United States, the fourth of six LNG carriers that Knutsen has chartered to PGNiG Supply & Trading. “Lech Kaczyński”, “Grażyna Gęsicka” and “Saint Barbara” were delivered in February, April and October this year respectively.
The vessels in the series are 299 meters in length, 46.4 meters in width and 26.5 meters in height, and are equipped with Mark III Flex membrane sealing system, re-liquefaction unit, air lubrication system and MEGA engines. To date, HSHI has received an order from Knudsen for 15 LNG carriers of the same type valued at $2.97 billion, with five currently under construction.
It is worth noting that in order to meet the shipyard’s production demand and solve the problem of insufficient space for outfitting operations at the shipyard, HSHI plans to invest about KRW 110 billion (equivalent to about RMB 605 million) to extend the quay’s shoreline, aiming to increase the docking space for ships at the shipyard. Under the plan, the company intends to extend the shoreline of Outfitting Terminal 2 from the current 2,800 meters to 3,600 meters, which will provide more operating space for the installation of cold-retaining materials in the cargo holds of LNG carriers. The extension will allow the company to berth four more LNG carriers.