The world's first fifth generation large LNG ship delivered! Hudong Zhonghua independently develops, designs, and builds
On May 15th, the world's first fifth generation "Changheng Series" 174000 cubic meter large transport ship "GREENERGY OCEAN", independently developed, designed and built by Shanghai East China Shipbuilding (Group) Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of China Shipbuilding Corporation, was named and delivered at the Changxing Island factory in Shanghai East China five months ahead of the contract period. This "offshore super refrigerated vehicle", which was innovatively developed by China and represents the highest technological level in the field of large LNG transport ships in the world today, has finally transformed from a construction drawing to a real scene drawing. Its emergence will become a landmark event for China to move from being a follower to a leader in the world LNG shipping industry.
The "Green Energy Ying" has a total length of 299 meters, a molded width of 46.4 meters, and a molded depth of 26.25 meters. It is classified by the American Bureau of Shipping (ABS) and the China Classification Society (CCS). It adopts the latest intelligent control exhaust gas recirculation (iCER) system technology installed on the Chinese ship WinGD 5X72DF2.1 dual fuel main engine, and is the first ship of the largest LNG transport ship construction project in China to date - the "China National Offshore Oil Corporation's Medium - and Long Term FOB Resource Supporting LNG Transport Ship Project". It is of great significance for ensuring energy transportation security in China, effectively improving the independent and controllable ability of China's LNG transportation industry chain, and helping China build a strong manufacturing and marine power.
This "Changheng Series" ship type, which combines the latest design concept, the best technical equipment, the strongest environmental protection performance, the most forward-looking, and the essence of Hudong China's previous four generation LNG ship design, has four significant highlights.
——Fast and efficient, with low overall energy consumption. By adopting the fourth generation of Shanghai East China twin stern fin configuration, the best match was achieved between reducing self-propelled resistance and improving stern propulsion efficiency, achieving excellent integrated coupling efficiency of the propulsion chain. Through multiple rounds of European water tank experiments, it has been verified that excellent navigation efficiency can be achieved in both medium and high speed ranges. Compared to the previous generation of ships, daily navigation reduces carbon emissions by more than 10 tons.
——Good low-temperature performance and wide cabin compatibility. The design of this type of ship fully considers compatibility and universality, and can be equipped with both NO96 series and MARK III series enclosure systems. Especially when equipped with the latest generation NO96 Super+system, the evaporation rate is reduced by 15% compared to the previous generation L03+system, reaching 0.085%, providing a wider range of oil and gas balance speeds for low-carbon navigation. It can reach 120 LNG shore stations on all continents around the world, with excellent global universality.
——Empty ships have light weight and strong cargo carrying capacity. The entire ship adopts an integrated lightweight design concept, optimizing the empty ship weight from multiple dimensions. Compared to the previous generation of ships, the total weight of the ship has been reduced by more than 1500 tons, and the cargo hold loading rate is higher. Each voyage can load an additional 800 cubic meters of LNG.
——Skilled operation and maintenance, excellent route matching. The ship can be equipped with a re liquefaction system of 1.5 to 2.3 tons, which can adapt to different balance utilization requirements of evaporation gas on short, medium, and long routes. The ship has strong maneuverability and economy, and can efficiently adapt to various operational requirements of diversified routes.
It is understood that the "China National Offshore Oil Corporation's Medium - and Long Term FOB Resource Supporting LNG Transport Ship Project" is divided into phases one and two, with a total of 12 174000 cubic meter LNG ships built. If fully put into operation, approximately 7 million tons of LNG will be transported back from around the world each year, which can meet the needs of 54 million households for nearly a year. This is of great practical significance for adjusting China's energy structure, improving environmental quality, improving people's living standards, and promoting coordinated economic and environmental development.
For a long time, China's LNG imports have been mainly based on seller to shore delivery, and the transportation rights are controlled by international large resource companies. Compared with major importing countries such as Europe, Japan, and South Korea, China's LNG transportation autonomy is relatively weak. The innovative trade form of China National Offshore Oil Corporation's medium and long-term FOB (Free on Board) will provide more operational convenience for cargo transportation and international trade, greatly enhancing the trade flexibility of resource importers. Therefore, having an independently dispatchable LNG transportation fleet and quickly responding to market changes through optimized resource allocation will help enhance China's LNG transportation autonomy, while ensuring energy import and supply security and stability, and enhancing China's resource bargaining power and international discourse power.
China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) has long been committed to serving the national energy development strategy, promoting energy transformation and upgrading, and high-quality green development. It actively advocates for "national shipbuilding" and is an advocate, promoter, and practitioner of China's shipbuilding industry entering the field of LNG ship construction. They stated that they will actively promote green development leapfrog projects, accelerate the development of the entire LNG industry chain business, enhance natural gas production, supply, storage and sales capabilities, and build a diversified low-carbon energy supply system. Through the FOB Phase I and Phase II projects, we will focus on building a safe, flexible, green, and low-cost high-quality LNG transportation fleet with Chinese characteristics, further enhancing China's independent control ability over the entire LNG transportation chain and cycle, and contributing more to ensuring national energy security.
In December 2021, the "Chang Heng series" ship types obtained certificates such as General Design Approval (GDA) and Pre Classification Approval (PCA) from four internationally renowned classification societies, including ABS, BV, LR, and DNV. They successfully obtained a permit for actual ship construction, which attracted global attention and orders flooded in. As of now, Hudong Zhonghua has taken on a total of 34 ships, becoming a hot commodity in the market.
Hudong Zhonghua has been deeply involved in the LNG field for 27 years, continuously breaking through key technological barriers and core capability bottlenecks. Its products have achieved full coverage from nearshore to ocean, from inland to inland rivers, from small to large to super large, and have delivered more than 40 LNG storage and transportation equipment. It is worth mentioning that at the end of April this year, the company signed a contract with Qatar Energy Group in Beijing to build 18 of the world's largest 271000 cubic meters of ultra large LNG transport ships, setting a record for the world's largest single shipbuilding order, demonstrating its strong strength in the field of high-end marine equipment.
Hudong Zhonghua said that it would work together with CNOOC, COSCO Shipping, merchant ship Mitsui and other partners to build the world's latest generation of LNG ships, provide first-class equipment for China's clean energy transportation, and make new contributions to better serve the national energy development strategy.
