South Korean shipowner SK Shipping has ordered engines for its new 180,000 m3 liquefied natural gas (LNG) carriers from Switzerland-based engine manufacturer Winterthur Gas & Diesel.
The company will delivery two 5-cylinder X72DF engines for each of a pair of the LNG carriers, which were ordered in May 2016 from South Korea’s shipbuilder Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI).
Featuring a GTT Mark III Flex membrane cargo containment system, the twin-skeg LNG carriers will also be fitted with HHI’s Hi-SGAS system combining fuel system supply for the two 5X72DF engines with the Hi‑SGAS system that can re-liquefy 100 % of the boil off gas (BOG) from the cargo.
The ships are scheduled for delivery in 2019 with engines being supplied in February 2018 for the first vessel and in April 2018 for the second. The LNG carriers have been contracted on long-term 20-year charters with SK E&S to carry shale gas LNG from Freeport Terminal, Texas, USA.
This is SK’s second series of 180,000 m3 LNG carriers to be fitted with WinGD’s X‑DF engines. In 2014, SK ordered low-speed low-pressure dual-fuel engines for LNG carriers which are being built by Samsung Heavy Industries and will be fitted with two 6‑cylinder X62DF engines each.