Japanese shipbuilder Mitsubishi Heavy Industries has christened a next-generation liquefied natural gas carrier being built for MOG-X LNG Shipholding S.A., a wholly owned subsidiary of Mitsui O.S.K. Lines.
The ship, named LNG Juno at MHI’s Nagasaki Shipyard & Machinery Work, is the third Sayaringo STaGE type vessel.
The second vessel from the series was christened in July . The ship, named Diamond Gas Rose, is owned by a joint venture of Mitsubishi Corporation and NYK Line. Diamond Gas Rose joined Diamond Gas Orchid, the first vessel of the same type, which was completed in late June, in service transporting LNG for the Cameron LNG project in Louisiana.
The Sayaringo STaGE is a successor to the Sayaendo class, which adopts the apple-shaped tanks and hybrid propulsion system functionality named STaGE, an acronym deriving from Steam Turbine and Gas Engines.
The hybrid propulsion system combines a steam turbine and engines that can be fired by gas. Namely, the engines’ waste heat is used to drive the steam turbine, resulting in substantial improvement in propulsion efficiency, enabling high-efficiency navigation throughout a full range of speeds, as explained by MHI.
The LNG Juno is intended to transport LNG for the Freeport LNG Project in the U.S. state of Texas, in which Osaka Gas Co. is participating.
The 180,000 cbm vessel has a lenght overall of 297.5 m, width of 48.94 m, depth of 27 m, and draft of 11.5 m. With a deadweight capacity is approximately 80,300 tons it is the largest within the Sayaringo series.