China’s Hudong-Zhonghua Shipbuilding to deliver record four LNG carriers in October

China’s largest LNG carrier builder Hudong-Zhonghua Shipbuilding has delivered four high-tech LNG carriers in the month of October, Chinese media Global Times reported on October 30.

It marks the first time a firm has delivered four LNG tankers in a month. Among the vessels delivered by the state-run company, which is a subsidiary of China State Shipbuilding, were the 174,000-cubic-meter LNG vessel Mihzem as well as the Greenergy Moon. 

The Mihzem and the Greenergy Moon are fifth-generation “Changheng” series and symbolizes China’s growth in developing fifth generation LNG tankers.

The fifth-generation vessels incorporate the world’s leading design concepts, advanced environmental performance, and the latest technical equipment.

The tankers also feature the world's first reliquefaction system and an exhaust gas recirculation system that was developed in China.

The vessels have been designed to achieve optimal environmental performance with the exhaust gas recirculation system lowering greenhouse gas emissions and consumption of LNG. In turn, this improves energy efficiency for the vessel and reduces shipowners’ costs.

Over 50 orders have been placed with Hudong-Zhonghua Shipbuilding for LNG carriers and more than 20 are currently being built. The Shanghai-headquartered company forecasts that it will deliver 11 large LNG tankers by the end of the year, which will also set a record for China.

The Chinese shipbuilding sector has found itself caught in turbulent waters amid the trade war between the US and China. Donald Trump’s administration has flip-flopped on levying tariffs on Chinese-built ships using US ports.

In April, Washington proposed new rules, which would levy a charge of $50 per net ton on tankers and operators from China. The fee was also planned to be raised by a further $30 per net ton over the next three years to as much as $140 per net ton as Trump seeks to wean US LNG exporters off using Chinese vessels.

Pushback from the US LNG sector, saw the proposed fee dropped significantly in June to $14 per net ton, before being raised again to $46 per net ton in mid-October.