On March 1 and 4, Dalian Shipbuilding Industry Company(DSIC) under China State Shipbuilding Corporation (CSSC) officially started the construction of Vessel No. 3 (G175K-3) and Vessel No. 5 (G175K-5) of the 175,000 m3 liquefied natural gas (LNG) carrier project for China Merchants Energy Shipping (CMES).
DSIC said that Vessel No. 3 (G175K-3) will be constructed in Dockyard 2-1 and Dockyard 2-3 in parallel with the bow and stern sections respectively, and the main hull will be completed by docking the two large sections together, which will further improve the construction efficiency and product construction quality.
G175K-5 is the first ship of DSIC’s new generation of energy-saving and environmentally friendly LNG carriers, and will also be the prototype ship type of all future LNG carriers. In the first phase, the parallel body closing construction of the vessel’s cargo hold is prioritized and the ballast tank program test is completed at the dock stage. And the construction of the cargo containment system will be started in advance to ensure the construction cycle is strongly guaranteed. In the second phase, the engine room section and bow section will be combined. This innovative construction mode can significantly shorten the underwater construction cycle of the LNG carrier, allowing the construction to be fully advanced and batch construction capability to be formed.
Developed independently by DSIC, this 175,000 m3 LNG carrier has an overall length of 295 meters, a beam of 46.4 meters, a depth of 26.2 meters, a design draft of 11.5 meters and a design service speed of 19.5 knots. With a total cargo hold capacity of 175,000 cubic meters, the vessel can very well match the loading capacity of 160,000 cubic meter tanks of the current mainstream shore stations.
Compared with the mainstream 170,000 m3 class LNG carriers, this ship type not only has the advantage of cargo hold capacity, but also has the interchangeability of fleet deployment, which can improve the flexibility for operation. It is well balanced in economy, flexibility and compatibility, and can call at most of the world’s large LNG shore stations, with excellent portability and ship-to-shore compatibility.
It is understood that on March 31, 2022, DSIC first undertook LNG carriers, and the order was placed by CMES. Since 2000, DSIC has successively completed the research and development, construction and test technology, engineering management technology and simulation cabin construction technology of large LNG carrier, and has fully mastered the technology and management technology for research and development, design and construction of large LNG carrier, which laid a solid foundation for undertaking of large LNG carriers. Meanwhile, in order to enhance the production capacity of LNG carriers, DSIC started the construction of LNG carrier supporting materials warehouse in last February.