DSIC Develops Large LNG Ship Business

Dalian Shipbuilding Industry Co., Ltd. (DSIC) aims to develop the large-scale liquefied natural gas (LNG) ship industry.

DSIC and China Shipbuilding Trading Co., Ltd., both subsidiaries of China State Shipbuilding Corporation Limited (CSSC), and China Merchants Energy Shipping Co., Ltd., an affiliate of China Merchants Group, recently signed an agreement on construction and operation of large-scale LNG ships.

The agreement includes building and operation of the 175,000-cubic meter Mark III Flex LNG ship. Basic design of the ship, which was shouldered by DSIC, has been completed, and has obtained approval in principle (AIP) from Lloyd's Register of Shipping and the China Classification Society.

Mark III Flex is 295 meters long, 46.4 meters wide and 26.2 meters deep. With a total cargo tank capacity of 175,000 cubic meters, it has a designed draft of 11.5 meters and a designed service speed of 19.5 knots.

The ship is installed with the latest LNG dual-fuel low-speed main engine, meeting the most stringent emission standards set by the International Maritime Organization.

A design image of the 175,000-cubic meter Mark III Flex LNG ship developed by DSIC [Photo/sasac.gov.cn]

LNG ships are regarded as products with high technology and having difficulty in building and added value. China's LNG ship construction technology has progressed in recent years.

CSSC's Hudong-Zhonghua Shipbuilding (Group) Co., Ltd. launched two LNG ships on the same day this year. The company also delivered two 174,000-cubic meter large-scale LNG floating storage and re-gasification units (FSRU), and one "all-rounder" LNG vessel, the world's largest of its kind.

Since 2000, DSIC has completed research and development, construction and testing technology, engineering management technology and simulation cabin construction of LNG ships and special personnel training. So far, the company has mastered process and management technologies of LNG carrier construction.

The company worked together with the French company GTT and many classification societies on R&D and optimization of LNG ships and has designed and built 140,000-cubic meter, 150,000-cubic meter and 175,000-cubic meter types of ships.

It also completed construction of the world's largest NO. 96-type LNG ship simulator and the fully-enclosed MARK Ⅲ LNG carrier simulator, which have been approved by GTT company and the world's mainstream classification societies such as the China Classification Society, Lloyd's Register, DNV, the American Bureau of Shipping and the French Classification Society.

The developments have laid a solid foundation for DSIC's business in the global LNG carrier market. 

(Executive editor: Niu Yilin)