PRESS RELEASE: Lloyd’s Register (LR) has signed an agreement with COSCO Shipping LNG Investment (Shanghai) Co., COSCO Shipping Heavy Industry Co., Ltd, Jiangnan Shipyard (Group) Co., Ltd. (JN), Marine Design and Research Institute of China (MARIC), Shanghai Ship and Shipping Research Institute (SSSRI) and China Classification Society (CCS) to design and develop the first 220k LNG carrier with a GTT Mark III membrane containment system.
The seven parties will use their expertise, experience and research capabilities to define the ship’s technical specifications and general arrangement of the main systems, to factor in route and capacity requirements. LR and CCS will provide technical support and consultancy services to ensure that the design meets all international regulations, industry-wide conventions and standards, and that it complies with each society’s classification rules. LR and CCS will also offer technical support for ship-shore matching, focusing particularly at upstream and downstream loading and unloading terminals.
Once the LNG carrier has been designed, LR and CCS will look to grant the design approval in principle, which will further enhance the project partners’ competitiveness in the large LNG carrier market. The parties will conduct hydrodynamic assessments on the design to optimise its performance and plan to continually improve the design.
Mr. Zhu Cangman, Vice-Director, Safety Committee, COSCO Shipping LNG investment (Shanghai) Co., said: “All of the partners involved in this project hope to achieve complementary advantages through close cooperation, which will further enhance the competitiveness in the large LNG carrier market within China and local areas.”
Mr. Zhu Jianzhang, Assistant President, MARIC, said: “As global demand for LNG trade continues to grow, the shipping industry will require more LNG carriers, specifically for newbuilding orders. As China’s demand for LNG continues to increase, more Chinese shipowners with need LNG carriers and this JIP will provide our customers with a suitable and competitive design to support their business requirements.”
Mr. Hu Keyi, Chief of Global Technology, Jiangnan Shipyard, said: “The membrane type LNG carrier is Jiangnan’s strategic and long-term product and expanding our LNG series will allow Jiangnan to support the rapid growth in Chinese LNG demand. Jiangnan has successfully cooperated with LR and MARIC on an AIP for standard size membrane type LNG carrier ‘LNG Jumbo’, and a joint development project for applying LNG fuel tank on larger container ship. These working arrangements and experience can be replicated on this new project.”
Ms. Wei Ying, LR’s Senior-Vice President, Greater China, said: “LR is the clear leader for gas ship construction in China, with 48% of capacity ordered to date being classed by us. We couldn’t have reached this position without the support of our partners in this project, including COSCO Shipping LNG Investment, who we have worked with for a total of 10 x 174k m3 LNGCs to date; and Jiangnan Shipyard, where we currently have 10 x VLGCs and 2 x Mark III LNGCs in progress. We remain committed to supporting the growth in the LNG shipping market in China, and we look forward to contributing to the success of this JIP through our unmatched local gas ship experience and expertise.”
