First Order Won for Global State-of-the-Art Ships

He Baoxin

On January 7th， the signing ceremony of CNOOC's medium and long-term FOB resource supporting LNG carrier project was held in Beijing， Shanghai and Tokyo by video link. Hudong-Zhonghua Shipbuilding (Group) Co.， Ltd.， a subsidiary of CSSC， and CSSC China Shipbuilding Trading Co.， Ltd.， as joint sellers， and the buyer， Japan Mitsui OSK Lines， officially signed a contract for the construction of six world's latest generation "Changheng Series" 174，000 m3 LNG carriers through the "cloud signing"， amounting to about 7.5 billion yuan.

It is worth mentioning that this is the order with the largest onetime effective quantity and the largest contract value in the LNG carrier construction field for Chinese shipbuilding enterprises in the past 10 years， not only realizing the "breakthrough of zero" of the world's latest-generation "Changheng series" LNG carrier orders independently developed by Hudong-Zhonghua， but also injecting a strong impetus into the historic leap of China's LNG industry equipment from follower to leader. The relevant participants of the "CNOOC Medium and Long-term FOB Resource Supporting LNG Carrier Project" also include China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC). and China COSCO Shipping Group Co.， Ltd. The project is a typical case of the three central enterprises to ensure national energy security， promote the common development of the LNG industry chain， and achieve strong alliances and mutual benefit and winwin results， which will surely play an important leading role in accelerating the transformation of China's energy structure and promoting China's economic development.

"Changheng series" LNG ship integrates the latest design concept， the best technical equipment， the strongest environmental performance and the most forward-looking， with an overall length of 299m， a molded breadth of 46.4m， a molded depth of 26.25m， a speed of 19.5 knots， applying X-DF dual-fuel engine， and the latest-generation twin-skeg lines， equipped with GTT's latestgeneration NO96 Super+cargo containment system， marked by good speediness performance， light weight of empty ship， low comprehensive energy consumption， wide ship-shore compatibility， ingenious operation and maintenance， and high adaptability of liquid cargo handling system to different routes. Compared with the previous same ship， its loading capacity has increased by 800 m3， reduced carbon emissions by more than 10 tons per day， the ship energy efficiency design index (EEDI) meets the requirements of the fourth stage ahead of schedule， and the energy consumption indicators， environmental performance and reliability have reached the world's top level. In December 2021， the ship received certificates of General Design Approval (GDA) and Pre-Classification Accreditation (PCA) issued by four classification societies -- ABS， BV， LR and DNV.

The "Changheng Series" superlarge LNG ship jointly developed by Hudong- Zhonghua and GTT integrates the essence of the first four generations of LNG ship design， developed in accordance with the world's latest design concept， using new optimized main dimensions， and the latestgeneration twin-skeg line design. With an overall length of 299m， a molded breadth of 46.4m and a molded depth of 26.25m， the ship applies a number of low-carbon energy-saving technologies， and has four highlights.

First， good speediness performance， and low comprehensive energy consumption. The ship adopts the fourth-generation twin-skeg line of Hudong-Zhonghua， which achieves the best match between reducing the self-propelled resistance and improving the stern propulsion efficiency， and obtains excellent coupling efficiency of the integrated propulsion chain. Through multiple rounds of experimental verification in European pools， this type of ship can achieve excellent navigational efficiency in the medium and high-speed segments. Compared to the previous generation of LNG ships， carbon emissions of a single-day voyage are reduced by more than 10 tons.

Second， good low temperature performance， wide compatibility of cabin type， and strong global universality. The vessel is designed with compatibility and universality in mind， and can be equipped with the NO96 series containment system or the MARK III series containment system. In particular， when equipped with the latest-generation NO96 Super+ system， the evaporation rate is 15% lower than that of the previous generation L03+ system， which can reach 0.085%， providing a wider oil and gas balance speed range for low-carbon navigation. At the same time， the ship can reach 120 LNG shore stations on all continents around the world， with excellent global universality.

Third， an empty ship is light in weight and has a strong cargo carrying capacity. The whole ship applies an integrated lightweight design concept， optimizing the empty ship weight from multiple dimensions. It is lighter and more compact than the previous generation of ships， with a higher cargo hold loading rate and an additional 800 m3 LNG per voyage.

Fourth， the operation and maintenance are ingenious and the route matching is strong. 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 for evaporative gas on different routes such as short-distance， mid-distance and long-distance， and the ship has strong control economy and can efficiently adapt to various operational requirements of diversified routes.

As a core shipbuilding enterprise of CSSC and China’s only comprehensive manufacturer of LNG equipment in the whole industry chain， Hudong-Zhonghua has been deeply engaged in the global LNG storage and transport equipment market for more than 20 years， independently developed 5 generations of LNG ships -- "Changqing"， "Changjian"， "Chang'an"， "Changxing" and "Changheng" series， and delivered more than 30 large-scale LNG equipment such as LNG carriers， LNG bunkering vessels， LNG-FSRU as well as five of the world's largest LNG-powered dual-fuel 23，000 TEU container ships， they have developed and stockpiled a variety of worldleading LNG equipment， including 270，000 m3 LNG carriers and LNG power generation ships.

On January 6， Hudong-Zhonghua also renewed the construction order with CSSC (Hong Kong) Shipping Co.， Ltd. for a 174，000m3 LNG carrier. So far， in the first week of 2022， Hudong-Zhonghua has received orders for 7 LNG carriers， achieving a good start in undertaking business operations. At present， Hudong-Zhonghua has a big order of 23 LNG carriers in hand with 9 under construction， and the delivery period has been scheduled to 2025.

In the future， under the guidance of the CSSC high-quality development strategy outline， Hudong-Zhonghua will adhere to scientific and technological innovation， concentrate on researching green shipbuilding technology， continuously optimize and improve the design and construction process of LNG ships， steadily improve the LNG ship construction level and the whole LNG industry chain. The independent design and manufacturing capabilities of large-scale storage and transport equipment and lean management ensure the orderly construction and on-schedule and high-quality delivery of the 6 LNG ships project.