On January 24th, the world’s first river-sea direct 14,000 m3 liquefied natural gas (LNG) bunkering carrier, independently developed and built by Hudong-Zhonghua Shipbuilding (Group) Co., successfully launched. In the next phase, it will undergo dock mooring tests and sea trials and is scheduled for delivery in August this year.
The LNG bunkering carrier can provide one-stop LNG refueling and transportation service directly from river to sea. It is equipped with Hudong-Zhonghua’s independently developed and national patent-authorized B-tank LNG containment system. It is the first time that this system applied on domestic LNG carriers, marking a major breakthrough in this B-tank LNG containment system.
With an overall length of 130 meters, a beam of 23.6 meters and a depth of 15 meters, the vessel is classified by CCS. With unique shallow draft design, the vessel is suitable for unlimited navigation area and can pass through Nanjing Yangtze River Bridge all year round, realizing one-stop LNG refueling transportation directly from river to sea.
It’s worth mentioning that Hudong-Zhonghua Shipbuilding has cooperated with dozens of domestic enterprises to promote the application of a series of nationalized equipments, such as the independently developed and nationally patented B-type liquid cargo containment system, high and low load compressors, etc. By adopting a dual-fuel-powered full rotary propulsion system, the LNG refueling carrier can realize flexible maneuvering in narrow inland waterways and it is equipped with an intelligent and integrated automation system, which will achieve a localization rate of more than 80% of the key equipments after completion.
It is understood that Hudong-Zhonghua is capable of R&D and construction of LNG carriers of 271,000m3 super-large, 174,000m3 large, 80,000m3 river-sea intermodal, and 14,000m3 river-sea direct, etc., and has become the most complete and rich shipbuilding enterprise in the field of LNG carriers.
